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The Reform of Shaun 





























































































































































































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The 


Reform of Shaun 


By 

Allen French 

M 

Author of “The Story of Rolf and the Viking’s Bow,” 
“ The Junior Cup,” etc. 


Illustrated by Philip R. Goodwin 


Boston 

Little, Brown, and Company 
1905 


USRARYof XWGKtSS 
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Copyright , zpoj, 

By The Ridgway-Thayer Company. 
Copyright , /poj-, 

By Little, Brown, and Company. 
^// rights reserved 

Published September, 1905 


THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE REFORM OF SHAUN 


“ Shaun slowly rose to his feet, and if 
his legs trembled with weakness, 
they also trembled with rage ” . Frontispiece 


J 


“ ‘ Ate himself sick with food he found 

in the street * ” Page 4 


v/ 


“ f It’s been such fun/ he said. <Do 

you ever bark at horses?’ ” . . “ 17 ^ 


MYSTIC AND HIS MASTER 

“The man outside, throwing himself 
right down on the ground, missed 
Mystic, but caught and held the 
chain ” * 


113 


* 


The Reform of Shaun 


4 


The Reform of Shaun 


i 

W ITHIN the kennel yard 
were a dozen dogs — that 
is, they were within but for 
their noses, which were thrust through 
the pickets. Without, old Jim Weaver, 
the dog fancier, talked with a patron. 
The gentleman’s dog strained at his 
leash and rubbed familiarly against 
Brian, who sat at Jim’s feet, — old 
Brian Boru, the ancestor, in some 
degree, of every dog there. But 
Brian held aloof and listened to the 
conversation. 

The other dogs also listened, even 
the three-months pups, who were just 
learning their English. And heedless 

m 


The Reform of Shaun 


Shaun, after his month in the world as 
eager to put on airs as a boy just from 
college, got no attention at all. 

“You guaranteed him satisfactory, 
Jim,” the gentleman was saying. 

“ Yes, Mr. Davis, so I did,” returned 
the breeder. “ Of course I ’ll take him 
back, or I ’ll exchange him for another.” 

“You have another?” asked Mr. 
Davis. 

“Same litter. Well, I’m disap- 
pointed in Shaun. I took much pains 
with him.” 

“Utterly unmanageable, Jim. He 
ran with all the curs in the town, ate 
himself sick with the food he found in 
the street, and would stay for hours 
away from the house.” 

Jim reached down, detached the 
gentleman’s leash from Shaun’s collar, 
and snapped on his own. Shaun took 

[ 4 ] 







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The Reform of Shaun 


the opportunity to rub closer to Brian, 
but Brian moved away and sat down 
on his haunches, still listening closely. 

“Will you have the other dog now, 
sir ? ” asked Jim. 

“ No. In a few days my wife and I 
go away for a visit, and we can’t have 
a dog with us that we ’re not used to. 
In two weeks I ’ll take him, Jim. 
Meanwhile won’t you take the new 
one into the house and train him a 
little ? ” 

“ I will, sir.” 

Mr. Davis stooped and patted Shaun. 
“ Good-bye, old fellow,” he said. Shaun 
paid no attention. His master pulled the 
dog to him, took his head in both his 
hands, and looked into the brown eyes. 
“ Shaun,” he said, “ I did my best with 
you.” But the dog began to tug and 
twitch to get away. 

[ 5 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Mr. Davis rose. “ You see, Jim, he 
pays no attention. He does n’t care.” 

“ I see, sir. He ’s no dog for you.” 

Mr. Davis turned away, and Shaun, 
piqued at the inattention of the others, 
started to follow. But the leash held 
him up, and he saw his master walking 
steadily away. He uttered a yelp. 

Mr. Davis stopped and looked back. 
“No, Shaun,” he said sadly. “ I gave 
you every chance.” He disappeared 
out of the dog’s sight. 


[ 6 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


II 

J IM opened the gate to the kennel 
yard, but none of the dogs came 
running out, not even the pup- 
pies. They stood near the opening in 
a close-wedged mass and looked at 
Shaun. None of the stumpy tails were 
wagging, none of the shiny teeth were 
bared in welcome. Each stocky Irish 
terrier stood and glowered, and Shaun, 
for the first time in his boisterous life, 
felt ill at ease. He hung back as Jim 
pulled him toward the gate. 

“You see,” said Jim, “they under- 
stand you. Larry, come out.” 

Shaun’s own twin trotted past him 
and took no notice of him. Jim thrust 
Shaun in among the others, took off 
his leash, and was about to close the 
[ 7 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


gate. Then he paused. “ Brian ! ” he 
said to the old dog. 

Master and dog looked at each other 
knowingly. Brian’s stump-tail slowly 
moved. 64 Go in there for a few days,” 
said Jim. “ See if you can’t teach him 
something.” Brian walked in after 
Shaun, and the gate was shut behind 
him. 

The other dogs crowded close beside 
Brian, following him to the back of the 
yard. Larry went with Jim into the 
house. Shaun, companionless, pressed 
up against the pickets and gazed at the 
corner around which his master had 
gone. Mr. Davis was in the bright 
and beautiful world ; Shaun was in the 
dingy kennel once more. But his mas- 
ter did not return, and Shaun at last, 
with a toss of the head, turned to the 
others. 


[ 8 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


An unnatural quiet was over them. 
None of the puppies were playing ; 
they were sitting in a row. Some of 
the older dogs had curled up as if to 
sleep, but at his movement Shaun saw 
the wary eyes open, then slowly close 
again. Old Brian, his one-time tawny 
muzzle now nearly silver, sat calmly 
and took no notice of his descendant. 
But Shaun wandered up to him. 

“ Brian,” he asked, beginning to feel 
a curious homelessness, “ Brian, has my 
master left me ? ” 

“ Your master ? ” said Brian. “ You 
don’t deserve a master, or a home.” 

“ Huh ! ” said Shaun. Brian was his 
great-great-grandfather, the idol and 
the model of the kennels, upon whose 
precepts Shaun himself had been 
brought up. But Shaun’s respect for 
Brian, in fact his respect for anything, 
[ 9 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


had been much lessened by his stay in 
the great world. 

Shaun went to Nip, the next oldest 
there. “ Nip,” he said, 64 how de do ? ” 

But Nip was cross, always cross. 
44 Get out,” he said, 44 you silly swag- 
gerer ! ” 

Now Shaun had learned to pride 
himself on his self-possession. 44 Oh,” 
he said jauntily, 44 glad to find you 
feeling so well, Nip.” He passed on to 
another dog. 

But this time he got no answer at 
all, and as he went still further he was 
studiously neglected. The dogs were 
asleep, or appeared to be, curled up 
tight. But Shaun believed they were 
pretending. Next he went to the pup- 
pies, who sat unsteadily together. 
44 Hullo, youngsters,” he said to them, 
44 how you ’ve grown ! ” 

[io] 


The Reform of Shaun 


The puppies snickered, but none 
made any other response. It seemed 
as if they giggled meaningly ; then by 
a common impulse they broke away, 
and by twos and threes scampered off, 
laughing together. 

It was irritating. More than that, it 
was depressing, for where was Mr. 
Davis ? Was he really not coming 
back? And would none of the dogs 
speak pleasantly ? Perhaps Mr. Davis 
had said something unkind there at the 
gate. Shaun wished he had listened. 
He walked along the row of sleeping 
dogs ; none moved to make advances 
to him. N ip was awake still, but surly 
and bristling. Brian, after his con- 
temptuous remark, sat like a statue. 
Again Shaun felt that curious home- 
sickness. 

He went back to the gate and sat 


The Reform of Shaun 


down. Why did not Mr. Davis re- 
turn ? Homesickness increased. It be- 
gan to press upon him. Shaun could 
not help it — after a while he whim- 
pered. He was not so very old. He 
looked around at the older dogs ; none 
paid attention. He raised his muzzle 
and whimpered louder. Then the bar- 
riers broke, and he lifted his voice in 
a full-drawn howl. “ Oh,” cried poor 
Shaun, “ nobody loves me ! ” His 
quivering nose pointed toward the 
cruel heavens. 


[ 12 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


III 

A FTER a while Shaun became 
J % conscious that Brian had 
changed position — was, in 
fact, coming towards him. He kept 
on howling. Brian sat down by his 
side. Gradually Shaun became silent. 
There was a pause. Shaun did not 
look at Brian, but he knew that Brian 
was looking at him. 

44 Tell me,” said Brian, finally, 44 why 
should any one love you ? ” 

44 Why — why — ” stammered Shaun. 
“ What have you done,” asked Brian, 
44 to earn any one’s love ? ” 

44 Oh,” cried Shaun in despair, 44 1 
wish I were with Horton’s Snap ! He 
would treat me kindly.” 

[ 13 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Well, then,” asked Brian, patiently, 
“ who is Horton’s Snap ? ” 

“ Horton,” said Shaun, “ is the 
butcher in our town. Mr. Davis’s 
town, I mean. Snap is his dog.” 

“ What kind of a dog ? ” 

“ Why, a fox terrier, with a bushy 
tail.” 

There was a perceptible snicker from 
behind, but Shaun, quickly as he looked, 
could not tell from which dog it came. 

“ A fox terrier with a bushy tail ? ” 
asked Brian, coldly. “ What did he 
do ? ” 

“ Oh, just nothing,” said Shaun, glad 
of a chance to talk of his world. “ But 
he knew where there were such nice 
things to eat ! ” 

“ With what other dogs did you go 
about ? ” pursued Brian, deliberately. 

“ Why,” said Shaun, “ there was Jack 

[u] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Rogers. He was a setter. And Mopsy 
Frost ; he was a pug.” 

“ Fond of eating ? ” asked Brian. 

“ Oh,” cried Shaun, enthusiastically, 
“ there was always such a fine pail- 
ful at his back door.” 

“ Any other dogs ? ” inquired Brian. 

“Well, I don’t know,” and Shaun 
thought. “ I don’t count the Waltons’ 
Max. He was rather too fond of 
going with his master.” 

“ A thing you seldom did, I sup- 
pose ? ” 

“Why, Brian,” whined Shaun, sud- 
denly seeing where all this tended, 
“ Mr. and Mrs. Davis would go some- 
times and call on friends, and expect 
me to wait outside. And it ’s still 
chilly nowadays.” 

“It is cold work sitting on door- 
steps,” commented Brian. 

[ 15 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Shaun was encouraged. “ Yes,” he 
said eagerly, “ and what do you get for 
it ? I saw Trip W aters once, waiting 
for his mistress, and shivering. He 
would n’t come with me and play, or 
get some food.” 

•“ I wonder why,” said Brian, as if to 
himself. 

“ Oh,” explained Shaun, “ he had the 
old idea that a dog should n’t take food 
except from his master.” 

“ Is that idea out of date ? ” asked 
Brian. “ I was brought up on it.” 

“ Why, what ’s the use of it ? ” 
cried Shaun. “ In our town there ’s 
plenty to eat, and so a fellow helps 
himself. You can’t expect anything 
else.” 

“ I should n’t think it very clean,” 
remarked Brian, critically. 

“ Well, clean enough,” said Shaun. 

[16] 













* 








The Reform of Shaun 


“ And you don’t seem in such good 
trim as when you left.” 

Shaun made no answer; he allowed 
his mind to wander. But the thought 
of his friends was presently too much 
for him, and he broke out again. “ It ’s 
been such fun ! ” he said. “ Do you 
ever bark at horses ? ” 

“ I ? ” asked Brian, in surprise. 
“Well, of course you have to be 
pretty limber,” went on Shaun. “ Snap 
Horton showed me, but I can do it now 
as well as he. I almost made a horse 
run away once. And everybody gets 
so mad ! ” 

“ Your master, too ? ” 

“ He hated it,” admitted Shaun, guile- 
lessly. “ He ’d catch me if he could, and 
tie me up. But it ’s such fun ! ” 

“ Never struck you as being a little 
undignified ? ” 


[ 17 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Why,” said Shaun. “No — I — 
That is, not exactly.” 

“And how were you treated in the 
house ? ” asked Brian. 

“ Why, pretty well, I must say. I 
had my own basket and a cushion. My 
mistress was kind to me — isn’t it nice 
when a woman pats you ? But she was 
particular, you know, just like Mr. 
Davis. She used to wash me once a 
week, and would make me eat my food 
on a cloth. Why should people object 
to crumbs? And then they never let 
me go into the dining-room. And she 
did n’t like to have me bark at people 
that passed the house. You see, they 
kept me pretty close.” 

“ Of course you barked just the same ? ” 

“ Of course,” said Shaun. 

“ And did n’t take pains about the 
crumbs ? ” 


[ 18 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


44 Why — no.” 

44 And slipped away whenever you 
could to join your fine friends ? ” 

44 You talk,” answered Shaun, im- 
patiently, 44 like Caesar White.” 

44 It s a pity you did n’t listen more to 
him. But who is he ? ” 

44 Well,” said Shaun, this time trium- 
phantly, 44 you may sneer at the mis- 
fortune of Snap Horton’s birth, but 
Caesar White is no better. He is mixed 
mastiff and bull.” 

Brian was not moved. 44 V ery well,” 
he said. 44 Birth is not everything. I 
have seen some pretty poor specimens 
come out of the best kennels (Shaun 
winced). You are young, Shaun, and 
have not yet learned that dogs should 
be measured by merit. What did 
Caesar White do ? ” 

Shaun was still argumentative. 44 You 
[ 19 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


can’t get me there,” he cried, “ either. 
He ran with a cart!” His contempt 
was deep. 

“ Oh, Shaun,” said Brian, “ I thought 
you had learned these things. Tell me, 
is there any disgrace in minding your 
master’s business ? To run with a cart 
and guard it — for a horse cannot do 
that — is honorable.” 

Shaun’s assurance vanished, and Brian 
waited a moment for the reproof to 
take effect. Then he asked : “ And 
Mr. Davis, was he kind ? ” 

“Well,” said Shaun, “I thought he 
was at first. But after I made friends 
with Snap Horton, Mr. Davis used to 
punish me for the things I did, — bark- 
ing, you know, and eating, and coming 
home late. And Snap said, you know, 
he was a pretty hard master. He never 
let any of his dogs run loose.” 

[ 20 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ No,” said Brian, “ so your father 
said.” 

Shaun faltered. “ Did my father 
know Mr. Davis ? ” 

Brian looked at Shaun with indigna- 
tion. “ You don’t remember much that 
is said to you, do you ? Your father 
was Mr. Davis’s own dog. Have you 
forgotten that Mr. Davis took you be- 
cause he was so fond of your father ? 
Why, I told you twenty times never to 
disgrace your family. In that town of 
all others, and with such a master ! ” 
Shaun felt a sudden sinking. “I — I 
forgot,” he said. 

“ Your father,” went on Brian, “ used 
to come here sometimes for a week in 
the summer, when his master and mis- 
tress went yachting. Your father,” 
said Brian, “was a dog” It was as if 
Brian had said : “ He was a man” 

[ 21 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


44 Jim has his picture in the house. 
Gillie was the best dog that ever went 
out of Jim’s hands. Better than me. 
There ’s not a pup in the yard that 
can’t tell you all about him. And you 
forgot ! ” 

Shaun held his head low. 

44 I remember,” said Brian, 44 when the 
news came of his death. I was in the 
yard that day looking after your mother. 
Jim came to the fence and looked 
down on us all. The moment I saw 
him I knew that something was wrong, 
and when he said, 4 Gillie ’s dead ! ’ 
there was n’t one of us that did n’t drop 
his tail. You were born the next day. 

“And you say,” pursued Brian, grimly, 
“that Mr. Davis was a hard master. 
I know all about Mr. Davis. Your 
father said : 4 A kinder master one 
could n’t have. It was a pleasure to 
[ 22 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


obey him.’ A hard master ? Shaun, 
he came here one day, and sat down 
there in the house, and called me to 
him. 4 Brian,’ he said, 4 Gillie ’s dead ! 
Old dog, my heart is sore. Where shall 
I get such another?’ And Shaun, 
there were tears in his eyes. Don’t 
you know we picked you out for him ? ” 

Shaun shivered all up and down his 
spine, but his back was now turned and 
he said nothing. 

44 One of Gillie’s pups was to go 
to Mr. Davis,” went on Brian. 44 W e 
heard Jim saying so. We picked you 
out for him, your mother and I ; we 
trained you up for him. Jim saw it, 
and so he took the mother’s choice, as 
he always does. And now — Larry ’s 
a good dog, but he ’s the last of the 
litter.” 

44 What do you mean ? ” cried Shaun. 

[ 23 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Is n’t Mr. Davis coming back for ♦ 
me?” 

“ For Larry.” 

“ And I — and I — ” gasped Shaun. 

Brian answered solemnly, “ You will 
stay here the rest of your life. Jim 
never lets a dog go out twice.” 

Shaun screamed with sudden fright. 


[ 24 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


IV 

W HAT human beings express 
by weeping and wailing and 
wringing of hands, Shaun 
showed in his own way for many hours. 
He yelped, he barked, he howled ; he 
ran up and down beside the pickets ; 
he scratched at the gate. At midnight 
his distress was not less. Old Jim got 
out of his bed and looked in the moon- 
light at the piteous form. “ He takes 
it pretty hard,” he said, and he patted 
Larry before he lay down again. 

Near daylight Shaun, exhausted, 
slept. But his dreams were bad, and 
he twitched and whimpered in his sleep. 
The other dogs looked at him soberly, 
as one by one they awoke ; the pup- 
pies got many a lesson that morning. 
[ 25 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Jim came and fed the dogs, and at the 
noise Shaun awoke. But he made no 
movement to join them, and Brian at 
last came and sat down by him. 

“Well,” he said cheerfully, “I’ve 
some breakfast saved for you.” 

“ I think,” said Shaun, “ I don’t 
want any.” 

“Prefer something fresh from the 
gutter ? ” 

“ Brian ! ” cried Shaun, unhappily. 

Brian couched and lay thinking. 
“ Your father — ” he said after a while. 
Shaun’s ears dropped, and he turned his 
head away. 

“Your father,” said Brian, without 
relenting, “ used to speak so fondly of 
his home. He used to thank me,” and 
the old dog’s voice trembled a little, 
“ for the training I gave him. He used 
to repeat to the puppies all the max- 
[26] 


The Reform of Shaun 


ims : 4 Obedience is a dog’s virtue,’ 
4 One dog can annoy a whole neighbor- 
hood,’ ‘A good home is more than 
everything,’ and then again, 4 Whatever 
comes of it, obey.’ He used to say a 
good many things may not seem to 
pay — waiting at doors, not eating, not 
barking, coming when you’re called. 
But they do pay, just the same, when 
you find your master loves you. Mr. 
Davis, Shaun — ” 

44 Don’t ! ” cried Shaun. 

44 Mr. Davis cared. He said, when 
he left you yesterday, that he ’d 
done his best with you. If you had 
noticed, you ’d have seen how much 
he cared.” 

44 Don’t ! don’t ! ” cried Shaun. 

44 And now,” went on Brian, 44 you ’ll 
grow to be just like Nip here, fat and 
cross, and somewhat stupid. A gentle- 
[ 27 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


man tried him once and could n’t keep 
him.” 

“ Don’t ! ” cried Shaun. “ Don’t ! 
oh, don’t ! It kills me. Oh, how could 
I forget ? ” 

And Jim, again looking out of the 
window, said, “There’s Shaun at it 
once more.” He lifted Larry up to 
look. 


[ 28 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


V 

I T was the second morning. Shauns 
second night had been quieter ; for 
he went to sleep before midnight. 
But again he refused his breakfast. 

“You needn’t talk to me any more 
about it all,” he said to Brian, when the 
old dog came and sat by him again. 
“ I think I understand now.” 

“ Have I been unkind ? ” asked Brian. 
“ You had to be, I suppose. None of 
the other dogs have taken any notice of 
me since I came.” 

That was according to Brian’s orders. 
And yet, thought the old dog, what 
was the use ? Shaun’s life was spoiled. 
He would have no chance to show his 
repentance. 


[ 29 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Suddenly Shaun jumped up. “ Brian, 
Jim has left the gate open ! ” 

“Well,” said Brian, calmly, “none of 
the puppies will run away.” 

Shaun grew excited. “ I w r ill run 
away ! ” 

“ Why — ” said Brian, “I — ” He 
hesitated between duty to his master 
and affection for a favorite grandchild ; 
but Shaun waited for no permission. 
He slipped out the gate. 

“ I must go,” he said. “ Good-bye.” 
He dared not wait, but began at once 
to move away. Brian called out to 
him one direction before he disap- 
peared, — “ Inquire of other dogs.” 
Then Shaun was gone. 

Once in the street he was like a chip 
upon the sea. Strange dogs ran at him 
and growled. He avoided them only 
to meet others. This was no time to 
[ 30 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


fight ; besides, no dog has a right to 
fight except upon his own ground. 
Shaun was weak with thirty-six hours 
of unhappiness, and from lack of food. 
How glad he was when he saw a dog 
that ran with a cart ! 

64 Please,” he said, 44 oh, please — 
which way to Concord ? ” 

The dog with the cart trotted on, 
minding his master’s business ; but he 
responded. 

44 Go on to the watering-trough,” he 
said, 44 then first left, and straight on 
for miles and miles.” 

Shaun obeyed. He found the long 
turnpike and followed it. First 
there were houses ; they grew less in 
number, and he ran between fields, 
then between tall trees. Then were 
fields again, then more houses, then 
another town. A dog ran out at 
[ 31 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


him. “ How far to Concord ? ” asked 
Shaun. 

“Woof! Who are you? Woof, 
woof ! ” 

Another dog ran up, and then an- 
other. Shaun gave them the slip and 
passed through the town’s centre, where 
other dogs came yelping. Lonely, 
afraid, he ran as for his life, but a recol- 
lection came to him. “ This,” he said 
bitterly, “is what I used to do with 
Horton’s Snap.” 

He passed through the town, then 
through the long vacant space where 
no one lived, then through another 
town, and another, and another. No 
Concord yet, but in every place he was 
followed by yelling mongrels. Another 
town, but not his own, and still the 
straight road led on. Then at last — 
surely that house was familiar, and that 

[ 32 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


tree ! Here was his own town — his 
own street — his own house, with Mr. 
and Mrs. Davis standing at the door. 
He crawled to them, pleading, on his 
wretched little belly. “ Shaun ! ” they 
cried, and stood speechless. 


3 


[ 33 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


VI 


“ so,” said Brian, on the next 

l ^ day, “ they ’ve brought you 
-A J^- back again.” 

Shaun’s disappointment was too deep 
for expression. Brian could get nothing 
from him — nothing but moans, and 
tears from the brown eyes. It seemed 
as if Shaun were heartbroken. “ He ’ll 
die of it,” said Brian, and old Jim said 
the same. A day, two days passed, and 
Shaun began to get thin. Jim bathed 
him, combed him, brushed him. He 
brought him the best of food ; Shaun 
would not touch it. “ He ’ll die, surely,” 
said Jim. 

Brian came to him again and again. 
Shaun sighed, moaned, and could not 
respond. But at last, by long per- 
[ 34 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


severance, Brian made Shaun talk. 
44 Oh,” said the poor creature, 44 if they 
had only tried me ! I should have been 
so good ! But my mistress cried when 
1 cried ; sometimes I think of that, and 
it comforts me — a little. If I could 
only see her again ! ” 

Brian was moved. 44 It must have 
cost her something to send you away, 
even at first,” he asserted. 

Tears trickled down Shaun’s nose. 
44 1 know it now,” he said. 44 1 re- 
member now how she kissed me good- 
bye the first time. And this time, just 
as we were going away, and she was 
crying, 4 Oh,’ she said to Mr. Davis, 
4 don’t let him come back again. I 
could n’t bear to part with him a third 
time.’ ” 

44 Then go again ! ” cried Brian. 

44 Jim will never let me out,” said 
[ 35 ] 


The Ref 07 in of Shaun 


Shaun, sadly. 44 I heard him promise 
Mr. Davis.” 

44 But I can get you out ! ” 

Shaun started up. 44 What — now ? ” 
he demanded. 

44 This night,” said Brian. 44 Eat, 
Shaun — eat and gather strength.” 

That night’s moon saw a strange 
sight. One after another the terriers re- 
lieved each other, digging a hole under 
the pickets. Shaun lay and waited, 
trembling with hope, while Brian di- 
rected the work. When the hole was 
deep enough, Shaun squeezed through. 

44 Good-bye, all,” he said. 44 Good- 
bye, Brian. You ’ve been kinder to 
me than T deserve.” 

The two rubbed noses through the 
bars. 44 Good-bye,” said Brian. 44 Good- 
bye,” said all the others. 44 Good luck 
this time, Shaun.” 


[ 36 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


That was a long run in the pale 
moonlight. The road stretched onward 
like a silver ribbon, bordered by threat- 
ening shadows. Among the woods the 
darkness seemed full of dangers ; in 
the towns Shaun feared the barking 
curs. But no wild beasts came from 
under the trees, and as he passed 
through the sleeping towns no one 
ran at him. At the farms he saw dogs, 
but they w r ere watch-dogs, vigilant but 
silent, who let him pass. “ They,” 
thought Shaun, “ are like the dogs that 
run with carts.” And as the day 
broke he reached his own town and his 
own house. Thankful, humble, afraid 
of what might happen, he sat at the 
door and waited for the family to 
awake. 

But while the town stirred into life, 
and carts began to pass and repass, no 
[ 37 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


sound came from within the house. 
The milkman went by without stop- 
ping, and Shaun, wondering, became 
uneasy. Still he did not dare to bark. 
He waited longer, till the sun stood 
high and he could no more contain him- 
self. Then he cried for admittance. 

The neighbor’s wife came to the door 
and looked at him. “ Why,” she said, 
“there is Mr. Davis’s dog come back 
again.” She came out and spoke to 
Shaun. “ Doggie,” she said, “ they ’ve 
gone. They ’ve gone away for a week.” 

“ She does n’t understand,” thought 
Shaun. “ Perhaps they will come soon. 
I’ll — I’ll wait.” 


[ 38 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


VII 

HE woman left him, and he lay 



down, so tired that he almost 


slept. He was aroused by a 


voice, impudent and familiar. “ Hullo, 
Shaun. Back again ? ” 

There stood Snap Horton, grinning 
broadly, his bushy tail waving. “ One 
on you, Shaun ! ” he said. “ They Ve 
gone on a vacation ; everybody knows. 
But never mind ; you sleep with me in 
our shed, and there’s plenty of food 
about the town.” 

Every fibre of Shaun’s body quivered 
at the sight of his old intimate — his 
tempter. He jumped up, growling. 

“ Go away ! ” he cried. 

Snap started back. “ Shaun ? ” 


[» 9 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Go away ! ” repeated Shaun. “ I 
hate you ! ” He took a step forward ; 
his hair was bristling. “ Shall I bite 
you ? ” Snap was a coward, and he 
fled. 

The long day wore into the long 
evening. Shaun never left the steps. 
Toward night he saw a form coming 
down the street, and knew it for Jack 
Rogers on his evening rounds. In be- 
hind each house, coming out quickly or 
slowly as he found more or less to eat, 
occasionally emerging hurriedly as if 
chased, came the second of Shaun’s old 
cronies. Shaun watched him with grow- 
ing shame. Once he had joyously 
accompanied Jack on these tours of 
greediness ; now it seemed a small and 
currish thing to do. Jack knew by ex- 
perience that there was never anything 
at the Davis house ; he was trotting 
[ 40 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


by when he perceived Shaun. Shaun 
turned his head away. 

But he heard the fawning voice. 
“ W hy, Shaun, old boy ! So glad to see 
you back. Folks away, aren’t they? 
Well, come with me, and we’ll get 
along together.” 

Shaun slowly rose to his feet, and if 
his legs trembled with weakness, they 
also trembled with rage. “ See here, 
Jack Rogers — ” 

“Well, Shaun,” said Jack, smoothly, 
“ if you won’t, you won’t. To-morrow, 
perhaps.” He trotted on. 

The neighbor’s wife came to her door 
and called him. She had a dish in her 
hand, and Shaun looked away from the 
temptation. She came to him and put 
the dish down near him ; a bowl also. 

“ A good bone,” she said, “ and some 
bread and milk. There, doggie, you look 
[ 41 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


hungry. Now eat it all up.” She patted 
his head and waited to see him begin. 

Shaun wagged his tail, but drew 
back. “ A good dog,” he remembered, 
“lets only his master feed him.” She 
pushed the food nearer, and the tempt- 
ing smells came to his nostrils, but he 
still drew uncomfortably away. “ It 
beats all,” she said at last. “ But I ’ll 
leave them with him.” She went back 
to her own house. 

It was lonesome in the gathering 
night, terribly lonesome. The presence 
of the food tempted him, and he with- 
drew to the lower step. White’s cart 
went slowly by, with Ceesar following 
behind. The big dog looked at Shaun, 
but said nothing and trotted on. 
When he was out of sight, Shaun wept 
a few tears. “ He warned me once,” 
he said. 


[ 42 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Night came. When the moon rose 
Shaun felt the desire to howl, but 
struggled with it and mastered it. 
“ One dog can annoy a whole neigh- 
borhood.” Mr. Davis had once called 
him a public nuisance ; he w^ould be 
one no longer. He paced up and 
down ; at times he slept fitfully. At 
last the morning dawned — a dreary 
day. 

Then came Mopsy Frost panting up 
the street. He seated himself on the 
lower step. 

“ Snap told me he saw you yesterday,” 
he said in his husky voice. “ A little 
out of sorts, were n’t you ? He said he 
expected an apology. Ha ! ha ! ” He 
paused for answer, but got none. “ I 
came to offer you a share of something 
fine that I ’ve found.” 

“ Go ! ” cried Shaun. 

[ 43 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Shaun, when I ’ve fed you so many 
times ! ” 

“ With your food,” said Shaun, bit- 
terly, “ you betrayed me.” 

The fat beast got himself off the 
step. “Well,” he wheezed, “I see 
Snap was right. I sha’n’t expect an 
apology.” He went away. 

And now Caesar White came again ; 
but instead of passing, he left his cart 
and trotted to the steps. Shaun 
dropped his ears and tail, and looked 
away. “ Why, Shaun ! ” said Caesar, 
“ won’t you say good-day ? ” 

“ I laughed at you,” muttered Shaun. 
“ I called you names.” 

“ Let ’s forget that,” said Caesar, 
cheerfully. “ I Ve heard what Snap 
Horton ’s been saying, and know you ’re 
different now. You ’re in hard luck. 
Is there anything I can do ? ” 


The Reform of Shaun 


“ Nothing, I ’m afraid,” said Shaun. 

“ My master,” said Caesar, with a lit- 
tle hesitation, as if approaching a deli- 
cate subject, “ does n’t give me very 
much food. He does n’t believe in it. 
But you’re welcome to half of it. If 
you’ll come with me to-night — ” 

“ Oh,” cried Shaun, much moved, “ I 
have food here, but I don’t want any.” 

“You have kind neighbors,” said 
Caesar. “ 1 ’m glad you have food.” 
He looked up the street : his cart was 
turning the corner. “ W ell, I must be 
jogging. Good-bye.” 

The day dragged on ; Shaun had 
much to think of, many resolves to 
make, and an enemy within him, hun- 
ger, to conquer. It was hard to resist 
with the food so close by. To forget it 
he slept, and dozed away the hours — 
slept uneasily, with unpleasant dreams. 

[ 45 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Toward night he thought that some one 
was near him, and started up suddenly, 
crying, “ Who ’s there ? ” 

There was a rush of feet, and Snap 
Horton went flying away. But he 
bore in his mouth the bone for which 
he had sneaked up so quietly ; and 
though the neighbor’s wife, who had 
seen it all, came running out, it was 
too late. Shaun sat still, too proud to 
give chase, but his heart burned within 
him. 


[ 46 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


VIII 

T HAT day Shaun took comfort 
only in Caesar White, whose 
brief words at evening cheered 
him for the night. But the night 
brought a late spring frost. Shaun 
could not sleep ; it was so cold that he 
had to keep in constant motion. The 
early sun brought warmth, but no true 
comfort. The neighbor’s wife made it 
harder for him with fresh, more tempt- 
ing food, and he carried his trembling 
little body away from her, across the 
street. But even when she was gone 
the food remained, and when he curled 
up on the steps to sleep the odors tan- 
talized him. He repeated constantly, 
64 1 must n’t eat,” and, warmed at last 
by the sun, he slept. 

[ 47 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


But sleep, which at first had been his 
comfort, now began to torture him as 
much as his waking. Hunger pursued 
him : he dreamed of beautiful dishes of 
food and woke in an agony, crying 
with fear lest he should taste them. 
Dozing again, he thought he was with 
Jack Rogers, rooting in garbage, and 
woke with the strength of his hatred of 
himself. When Caesar came to speak 
with him he answered feverishly and 
strangely, so that Caesar went away 
soberly. Shaun was very thin ; the 
gnawing at his stomach was increasing, 
and when he slept again the pain of his 
hunger waked him. 

So passed a third day and night. 
People began to take notice of him, for 
the neighbors had told others. It irri- 
tated Shaun, in his weakness, to be 
stared at. It required all his strength 
[ 48 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


to resist the temptations that were 
brought him. More than once he 
sank in a stupor that was not sleep ; 
and when waking his head was not 
clear. And the fourth day revealed 
an evident difference in him : his bones 
were showing everywhere under his 
skin. 

It was the middle of the afternoon. 
Shaun lay on the step, awake. His 
eyes were bright and strange, as if 
through them showed the fire of his en- 
ergy, fitful just before its end. Snap 
Horton, Jack Rogers, Mopsy Frost, 
had not come near him again. But 
many others had spoken to him, new 
friends whom he remembered thank- 
fully all the rest of his life. And the 
neighbor’s wife was still with him, 
coaxing him to eat, and almost crying 
with pity. “ If I knew where Mr. 

4 [ 49 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


Davis was,” she said to herself, “ I ’d 
write him.” 

A gentleman passed by, the post- 
master, and she called him hastily. 
Shaun recognized a friend of his mas- 
ter’s, and feebly wagged his tail. 
“ Why, Shaun ! ” said the postmaster, 
and listened to the story of the woman. 
“ Did n’t he leave his address with 
you ? ” she asked at the end. “ Cannot 
you write ? ” 

The postmaster sat down on the step, 
and took Shaun’s head on his knee. 
“Won’t you eat, Shaun?” he asked. 
He took a piece of meat and held it to 
the dog’s lips. “ Here, try this ! ” But 
Shaun would not allow his mouth to be 
opened. 

The postmaster laid the dog gently 
down, then stood up hastily. “ This 
is n’t a case for writing,” he said. “ I ’ll 
[ 50 ] 


The Reform of Shaun 


telegraph. If I know Davis, he’ll be 
here in the morning.” 

Shaun half understood, and through 
a blur of tears he saw them leave him. 
Still he lay without motion, scarcely 
responding to words or caresses. At 
evening Caesar White came by again. 
He looked at Shaun anxiously. 
“ Shaun,” he said, “ you must eat soon. 
This can’t go on much longer.” 

“ A little longer,” said Shaun. 

Mercifully there was no more frost. 
All night long Shaun lay motionless, 
waiting for the day. Only the force 
of his will seemed to keep him alive. 
Through the dawn and early daylight 
he lay battling his weakness, till all the 
town was astir. 

Then a carriage came down the 
street, hurrying from the railroad 
station. Shaun heard it coming, and 
[ 51 ] 


The Reform of Sliaun 


opened his tired eyes. It stopped. He 
could not see, for his eyes were dim ; yet 
steps, familiar steps, hastened to his side, 
and he heard voices which he knew. 

“ Oh, Shaun ! ” cried Mrs. Davis, 
“how thin you are! No, keep quiet, 
do not move.” She put her arms 
around him. 

Still he could not see, but he heard 
now the other voice, quiet and strong, 
for which he had listened so long. 
“ Shaun ! ” said Mr. Davis. “ Good 
dog ! Here, boy, take this.” Shaun 
let his mouth be opened, and something 
flowed between his lips. It seemed 
to burn, but strengthened him. 

What was this ? Tears were drop- 
ping on his head. “ Oh,” sobbed Mrs. 
Davis, “ he shall never leave us now ! ” 

Shaun found her hand and kissed it. 


[ 52 ] 


Mystic and His Master 





Mystic and His Master 


i 

A MAN and a boy were walking 
their bicycles along a country 
road, and every little while 
they looked back. 

44 Do you see him, father ? ” asked 
the lad. 

44 No, Ned. Ah, there he is, but of 
course he does n’t see us. W histle ! ” 
And they whistled together. 44 Whee ! 
Whee-ee ! Whee-oo-hee ! ” 

At the end of the road, where it 
turned, appeared a brown and white 
dog, and if you knew about dogs you 
could tell he was a pup, because his 
legs were long and thin, and his ribs 
stuck out, and his head was too large 
[ 55 ] 


Mystic and His Master' 


for him. His long tail wagged every 
minute, as he went swiftly about from 
side to side of the road, looking for his 
little master. Because his tail wagged, 
you could be sure the dog was good- 
natured, but because it wagged in such 
an uncertain way you could know two 
other things. The first was that the 
puppy was puzzled and did not know 
how to find his master. And the sec- 
ond thing, which you could not know 
unless you had had experience with 
dogs, was that the puppy, although 
half-grown, was backward in learning 
and was not yet very strong-minded. 
Just exactly how this could be seen it 
would be hard to explain ; but you 
could know it mostly, perhaps, because 
the wagging of the tail expressed good- 
nature and little else : it was a round- 
about wag, not firm and steady, but 
[ 56 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


sometimes up and down and sometimes 
from side to side. 

For you must know that dogs are like 
boys or girls : they are quick or slow, 
attentive or inattentive, just like the 
many in each class at any school ; and 
all you can be sure of them is that there 
are no two alike. And dogs have this 
disadvantage over boys and girls, — that 
they have no schools, but must find out 
things for themselves. Of course, if a 
dog lived a year with his mother, she 
would teach him many things before 
he was old enough to go out into the 
world ; but it happened in the case of 
this puppy, as with most, that he was 
taken away from his mother when he 
was about six months old, and having 
been almost the dullest of his brothers 
and sisters, he was making slow work 
of learning in the world the many 
[ 57 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


things which he might have learned in 
the kennels. 

Now this puppy was a pointer, with 
long legs, not a very long nose, and a 
handsome head. He had beautiful 
eyes, and a look about him which prom- 
ised (and again I cannot say how, but 
any dog-man would know it at sight) 
that he would be a fine dog some day. 
So, since this was so, and as he was less 
nervous and more healthy than any of 
his brothers, he was chosen out of his 
family, even though he was so back- 
ward. He was named Mystic, and 
given a good home, and a kind little 
master, and a wise housefather and 
housemother who took good care of 
both himself and his master. And in 
the quiet little house in the quiet old 
town of Concord this puppy might 
spend all his life, if he earned the right 
[ 58 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


to do so. Now this was a vital condi- 
tion, and we must say at once that 
Mystic did not understand it. It was 
explained to him, of course, by his little 
master, who said on the very first day : 
“ You shall live with me always, if you 
are a good dog” And this If was so 
very important that Mystic ought to 
have been very sober about it, and to 
have made many resolves, there on the 
spot. But he did not, owing to his 
chief fault, which was a very great in- 
quisitiveness, which means a wanting 
to know all about everything. 

You may think it very strange to 
hear, almost in the same minute, first 
that this puppy, Mystic, was backward 
and a little stupid, and second that he 
wanted to know all about everything. 
But if you think a little, you will see 
that the two go very well together to 
[ 59 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


make a troublesome fault, whether in 
dog or boy. For this puppy was so 
interested in all he saw that he turned 
from one thing to another so quickly 
that he never really learned about either, 
and would not seriously give himself to 
study. In the kennel, when his mother 
would gather her puppies for a lesson, 
Mystic was always darting off to chase 
a cricket or to smell at something ; or 
even if he sat quite still he was not 
really listening, but was thinking of 
something else. If his mother had had 
reports to write to her master about her 
puppies, she would have written about 
Mystic, in very large letters, that he 
“ lacked application.” And that was 
the secret of it all. 

But even though we leave the pup 
and his master at opposite ends of a 
long stretch of road, let us think of this 
[ 60 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


matter a little further. Mystic’s nose 
was keener than all his brothers’ and 
sisters’ noses, and his eye was the sharp- 
est, and his brain cavity (which means 
the space in his head where he kept his 
thinking-machine) was really very large 
indeed. And Mystic’s mother knew 
this very well, so she took great pains 
with him. Other people saw it too, and 
that was why he was picked out to go 
to just this little boy, who was to have 
the best dog to be found. But this 
nose (which is the keenest organ a 
pointer dog can have), and this eye, 
and this very large brain, were really for 
a while a great handicap to poor little 
Mystic, who was like the old woman 
that lived in a shoe : he had so many 
impressions he did n’t know what to do. 
He saw so many more things than his 
brothers and sisters, and he smelt so 
[61] 


Mystic and His Master 


many more, that his brain, which was 
to take note of everything important, 
really could n’t put them down in the 
memory, and set them in order, and 
have them always ready for use, because 
there were always so many more new 
things to remark. And though Mys- 
tic’s mother did n’t know it, but instead 
got out of patience with him, poor dog- 
gie, he was always confused with the 
new things he saw. That was just the 
matter with him at the beginning of 
this story. 

So now, having left the puppy in his 
difficulty long enough, trying to under- 
stand him, let us see how he gets out 
of it. He was sniffing about vainly on 
both sides of the road, and looking 
behind every tree and stone, and was 
even making quite a fool of himself 
in his efforts to find his master. For 
[62] 


Mystic and His Master 


any dog who could think at all should 
know that a boy and a bicycle could not 
hide behind a rail fence or a hitching- 
post. Yet Mystic was most honest and 
earnest in his attempts, as his master 
could see when the sound of the whistle 
reached the dog’s ears. 

For Mystic, instead of stopping and 
listening, and so making sure what di- 
rection the whistle came from, thought 
— no, he didn’t think, he guessed — 
that the whistle came from behind him, 
which was simply ridiculous, since he 
had already searched every foot of the 
road so far. But he was turning, and 
about to rush madly back, when his 
master’s father’s whistle, which was 
particularly loud and clear, made him 
sure that it could not come from that 
direction ; so he turned the right way, 
and with great excitement galloped on, 
[ 63 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


still looking behind trees and bushes, 
till at last he saw his two masters plain 
in the middle of the road, and ran to 
them with the greatest relief. 

His master’s father, whose name was 
Mr. Phelps, said : “ Mystic, you are 
simply disgusting.” 

And his master said, leaning over 
and patting him : “ Oh, Mystic, why 
won’t you be a good dog ? ” 

But one of Mystic’s great drawbacks 
was that he had never really found time 
to study English. That is a duty which 
every pup owes to himself, since it will 
help him out of many a scrape if he 
only knows what people are talking 
about. Of course a dog can never know 
English as we know it, and all he does 
is to master the simpler words and sen- 
tences. But a wise dog studies very 
hard, and when he lies down in the 
[ 64 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


room where people are talking, and 
every little while opens one eye and 
looks at you, you may be sure that he 
is not napping, but is keeping his eyes 
shut most of the time that he may hear 
and think the better. But just now 
Mystic, having heard only his own 
name and the words “good dog,” and 
not knowing what the long word “ dis- 
gusting ” meant, wagged his tail and 
frisked about, until his master’s father, 
who looked as disgusted as he said he 
was, remarked: “Well, Ned, we shall 
never have our ride if we don’t go on.” 
So they mounted and rode on, the little 
master looking back every half-minute 
to see if Mystic were following. 

For a while Mystic followed very 
well indeed, remembering what a long 
time he had taken to find his master 
before. But the road went up hill and 
5 [65 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


down, around corners which were the 
most entrancing imaginable for a dog, 
since here and there the woods came up 
close, and there were fields all about, 
and there were the most wonderful 
smells imaginable. And this must be 
remembered as Mystic’s excuse, that he 
was born a hunting-dog, and his strong- 
est instinct was to investigate every 
smell of a certain kind, — that is, the 
scents of wild creatures. He knew very 
well that his duty was to follow the 
road, and keep as near to his master as 
he could, and not take too much time 
for the smells of the roadside, not more 
than a sniff at each. But it was really 
most confusing for the poor puppy, be- 
cause he knew that many things had 
happened just where he was running ; 
and first he took more time than he 
ought, to see whether a squirrel or a 
[ 66 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


rabbit had crossed the road ; and next 
he paused to consider just how long ago 
it was since that fox went by ; and then 
he galloped madly for a space, trying 
to catch his master again, and nearly 
caught him, being within sight of him. 
But then he felt safe and careless again, 
and when he came to a place where 
unmistakably a partridge had led her 
brood across the road, he stopped once 
more. 

Now a partridge is one of the strong- 
est temptations to a game dog, and as 
this was the fall of the year, the scent 
was particularly enticing. So Mystic 
followed it across the road and through 
the grass to the fence ; and the fence 
being loosely built, he slipped through 
and followed on the trail, getting more 
and more excited the nearer he got to 
the partridges. And he spent a good 
[ 67 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


deal of time there, with great delight to 
himself but with none to the old par- 
tridge, wha wanted to know what that 
dog w r as doing behind her. But then 
Mystic heard his master’s whistle, and 
dashed back to the road, having lost 
every idea that he had in his head. He 
realized how long he had delayed, he 
knew how naughty he had been ; and 
when he reached the road he rushed 
about frantically for a little while, and 
then ran at full speed back the way he 
had come. 

And from a hill-top Mr. Phelps and 
Ned saw the whole thing, — saw Mystic 
in the fields, saw him rush back to the 
road, and saw him start away in the 
wrong direction. In a little while 
Mystic was out of sight, still running 
fast, and Mr. Phelps said : “We might 
as well go on, there ’s no use waiting. 

[ 68 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


This has happened twenty times 
before.” 

44 Yes, father,” replied Ned, dolefully. 

So they mounted and rode on, each 
thinking very hard, and each very 
much vexed by what had happened. 
But Ned was anxious as well, and his 
father was troubled, for they knew they 
could not live with that kind of dog. 
It seemed as if Mystic had not learned 
a thing in the six months he was with 
them. And Ned could n’t bear to have 
his father troubled so, and his ride 
spoiled ; and Mr. Phelps did n’t wish to 
make the boy unhappy. But they 
both knew that it was right, and even 
more than Mystic deserved, when at 
last Mr. Phelps said: 

44 1 ’ll give that dog only another 
week.” 

Only another week, but it seemed 
[ 69 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


right. For they had never taken a 
walk or a ride together and kept Mys- 
tic with them to the end ; they had 
never had any real satisfaction out of 
him. In six months’ time the dog 
ought to have shown some improve- 
ment. It really began to seem as if 
Mystic were a fool-dog. There must 
be better dogs to be had. 


[ 70 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


II 

I T was a very crestfallen Mystic 
who scuttled into the house when 
the door was opened to him, and 
the reason why it was opened was not 
to the credit of his intelligence. They 
had taught him, with ever so much 
pains, that when he was with his mas- 
ter he could be let into the house if he 
barked. Mystic’s slow mind did not 
teach him that all he needed to do at 
any time was to bark outside the house, 
when some one would come to the door. 
They had tried him by leaving him 
outside while they went in, and the re- 
sult invariably was that he remained 
there quite silent, until they opened 
and called him to enter. It was really 
very irritating that a dog who knew so 
[ 71 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


much could not learn a little more, but 
Mystic never would bark for the door 
to be opened unless some member of 
the family were there in plain sight. 
This night when Mr. Phelps and his 
son arrived at home about dusk and 
found no Mystic waiting for them, they 
knew very well that he had lost himself 
again and might not be back for an 
hour. So Mr. Phelps went up-stairs to 
his own room ; but Ned, lighting the 
lamp in the parlor, sat down to his les- 
sons, with his ears ready to catch the 
slightest sound on the steps and piazza. 

He wished very much for Mystic 
to arrive before his father came down- 
stairs again. But an hour went by, 
and no Mystic came ; and after Ned 
had put aside his geography and made 
ready for supper and sat down once 
more, this time to his arithmetic, there 
[ 72 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


was still no dog. For Mystic was still 
mixed up in the tangle of country 
lanes, where the dusk was giving him 
every kind of trouble, so that he very 
nearly reached Bedford instead of Con- 
cord, and all because he could neither 
remember the places where he had 
been before, nor follow the plain direc- 
tions which other dogs gave him. 

But at last he came down the old 
Bedford road and reached Concord by 
a back route, and did not know the 
town when he saw it. It seemed to 
him a strange place, there at Merriam’s 
Corner ; for he did n’t recognize the 
memorial stone which marked the skir- 
mish with the British, but took it for a 
very large stone set in the wall by 
chance, whereas any dog should know 
it was n’t. However, he saw a dog ap- 
proaching, solemnly jogging behind a 
[ 73 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


cart, and Mystic made known his desire 
to be shown the way to Concord. 

“ Why, Mystic Phelps ! ” cried the 
strange dog. “ Don’t you know your 
own town when you Ve reached it ? ” 
“Why — why,” stammered Mystic, 
“ it ’s Caesar White ! ” 

“ So it is,” answered Caesar, impa- 
tiently. “Do you mean that you took 
me for a stranger ? ” 

Mystic was obliged to confess that 
he had not known this friend of all the 
dogs in town, who followed White’s 
milk-cart into every street, twice a day 
the year round. “And am I really 
in Concord ? ” he asked hopefully, yet 
very much ashamed as well. 

“ Why, this is Merriam’s Corner,” 
explained Caesar. “ There is Lexing- 
ton Road ahead of you. In five 
minutes you can reach the square. 

[ 74 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Have you been running away ? ” lie 
asked. 

“ I got lost,” answered Mystic, “ and 
I ’m so tired ! ” 

“You can get home in eight min- 
utes, if you hurry,” said Caesar. 
“ Good-night.” 

So Mystic reached home by the light 
of the street lamps, and slunk up on 
his own piazza feeling very much like a 
sneak. He crept to the door-mat and 
sat there, wondering how long he would 
have to wait before his master dis- 
covered him, and longing so much for 
the good things, the warmth and the 
food, which he knew were inside. And 
he might have waited there a long time 
but for Ned. 

Ned was still waiting for him, and the 
nearer it came to supper-time the less 
he could put his mind on his arithmetic 
[ 75 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


and the more anxiously he listened for 
Mystic. For when supper came he 
would have to go out to the dining- 
room ; and should Mystic arrive, the 
poor puppy must spend supper-time on 
the door-mat, for his feet on the piazza 
could be heard only from the parlor. 
Supper-time drew near, and Mr. and 
Mrs. Phelps came down-stairs, to sit 
and talk, and to make it more difficult 
for Ned to hear any sound outside. He 
put down his book and listened as 
closely as he could, until just as the 
door opened for Bridget to announce 
supper, he heard the slightest scratch 
of a dog’s foot on the boards outside. 

“ There he is ! ” he declared, starting 
up. 

“ I heard nothing,” said his father, 
“but go and look.” 

And there was Mystic, humble and 
[ 76 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


penitent, who came creeping into the 
house with his tail between his legs, 
and went slipping along the walls to 
his bed in the comer. He felt, as 
three reproachful glances centred upon 
his head, as if the light of three burn- 
ing-glasses was scorching him ; and he 
knew that the family was good to him, 
very good to him, to let him into the 
house at all. Were not other dogs 
very severely punished for running 
away, and was not this young master, 
who seized him in his arms, very kind 
and forgiving ? Mystic expressed by 
every means his gratitude that his 
master was still fond of him. 

“ Supper is served,” announced Brid- 
get, looking with a cold eye upon a 
scene now very familiar to her. 

“ Oh, father, is n’t he nice, is n’t he a 
dear good dog ? ” cried Ned. 

[ 77 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ Very dear, very good,” answered his 
father, grimly. And his mother said : 

“ But he always acts so, Ned, when- 
ever he gets lost, and yet it never does 
any good. Come to supper now, dear.” 

Mystic and his doings were not spoken 
of at supper ; the subject was too old, 
and there was only the same thing to 
be said. But after supper, when all 
four were settled in the parlor, two 
visitors came who were of great interest 
to the Phelps family, and one of them 
was a good friend of Mystic’s. They 
were Mr. Davis and his dog Shaun. 
Shaun was an Irish terrier, who has 
a separate story of his own. He 
was now a full-grown dog, although 
still young, but his wisdom made him 
very much respected among the dogs 
of Concord, and even the people were 
interested in him on account of what 
[ 78 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


had happened to him. Mystic, when 
he saw Shaun, jumped up from the 
corner where he had been lying, and 
gave him such an uproarious welcome 
that Mr. Phelps had to tell him to be 
quiet. 

“ Steady ! ” said Shaun, also ; “ don’t 
behave so when you are on trial.” 

That should have been enough to 
make Mystic stop and think, but the 
puppy was too heedless. “ Oh, Shaun,” 
he said, “ I ’ve had such an afternoon ! ” 

“ What did you do ? ” asked Shaun. 

“ I went out bicycling with my 
two masters,” said Mystic, 4 4 and I got 
lost.” 

Of course you understand that when 
a dog says he went out bicycling he 
does n’t mean he rode himself, but that 
his master did. It is the same when a 
dog says he went out golfing or even 
[ 79 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


skating. Shaun understood this, so all 
he said was : 

“ Lost ? Not again ? ” 

His tone was so very sarcastic that 
Mystic’s tail curled right down under 
his body, and for a minute the puppy 
was a very uncomfortable dog indeed. 
But he tried not to let Shaun see this 
(though Shaun saw it just the same), 
and sat on his tail as if he merely had 
put it down on purpose, as a cushion, 
which of course no dog ever does. He 
said, as cheerfully as he could : “ Well, 
I do get lost a good deal, don’t I ? ” 

“ Only every day,” answered Shaun. 
Now Shaun could have gone on 
being sarcastic, and every word he said 
would have made Mystic squirm. But 
he saw that that would do no real good, 
for Mystic was often humble, but got 
over it just as often. What Mystic 
[so] 


Mystic and His Master 


needed was to understand the situation, 
and to learn to think. After that all 
would be right. And Shaun wondered 
if he could not help the puppy, and 
even considered it his duty to do so. 
He had not forgotten his own experi- 
ences, those bad times of his puppy- 
hood, and they had taught him that a 
dog may make a great many mistakes 
while he is young, and yet after all turn 
out a good dog. Mystic had no bad 
faults, he did not run away on purpose, 
and he was sincerely fond of his mas- 
ter. There was hope for him, and 
Shaun began to think what could be 
done. 

He caught a word from the conversa- 
tion of the others, and knew that they 
were talking about Mystic. “ Here,” 
he said, “listen to what they are say- 
ing about you.” 

6 


[ 81 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ What ’s the good ? ” asked Mystic, 
sprawling at Shaun’s feet and beginning 
to bite at his foreleg. “ Let ’s play.” 

“ Not here in this room, you foolish 
thing,” answered Shaun. “ Come, 
listen, it’s very interesting.” 

But Mystic said, “ B-r-r-r ! ” and 
he took Shaun’s whole leg into his 
mouth. He made such a noise that 
Shaun, who was very much interested 
in the conversation, withdrew his paw 
from Mystic’s mouth and gave him 
such a slap that the surprised puppy 
yelped and rolled away. Mr. Davis 
looked at his dog in reproof. 

“ Never mind,” said Mr. Phelps, 
“ Shaun is in the right of it, I ’m sure, 
and it will do the puppy good.” 

“ My own master against me,” whined 
Mystic. And he felt so hurt that he 
slipped out into the hall, to a warm 
[ 82 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


comer near the register, and curled up 
there. But Shaun, who could no more 
than Mystic bear the thought that his 
master should suspect him of being in 
the wrong, drew nearer to Mr. Davis 
and looked up into his eyes, and would 
not be satisfied until his master put his 
hand on his head, and made him know 
that he was pleased with him, as usual. 
Then Shaun lay down by his master’s 
chair, and listened to the rest of the 
talk. 

“ He is a fine dog,” said Mr. Phelps, 
looking at Shaun with such a kindly 
face that the dog wagged his little short 
tail. “ How do you manage to train 
all your dogs so well ? ” 

“We went through enough with 
him,” said Mr. Davis, with a sigh as he 
remembered Shaun’s puppyhood. Mr. 
Phelps nodded his head wisely, and at 
[ 83 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


that sign that everybody in town knew 
all about his mistakes, the dog could 
not hide a little wriggle of shame. But 
Mr. Davis’s big hand came down and 
patted him, and Shaun, who knew very 
well what his master’s sympathy meant, 
felt better for it. 

“But Mystic is so different,” said 
Mr. Phelps. “ He does n’t intention- 
ally do wrong, he just forgets, or he 
doesn’t think.” He went on to give 
Mr. Davis an account of what hap- 
pened that afternoon. “ It is so strange 
that a hunting-dog of such parents 
[Mystic knew that both his parents 
were prize-winners] should lose his 
direction and then lose himself. Twice 
he went back the way we had come.” 

“ Give him time,” said Mr. Davis. 

“ I will give him a week more,” 
answered Mr. Phelps. 

[ 84 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Then they had some more talk over 
the matter, one saying one thing and 
one another, until it came time for 
Ned to go to bed, and he kissed his 
mother and father, and said good-night 
to Mr. Davis. But before Ned left the 
room, his father called him to his side. 

“We have talked a good deal about 
Mystic to-night,” Mr. Phelps said very 
kindly. “ Do you understand his chief 
fault?” 

“ Not to remember what he is told,” 
answered Ned. And that, from Ned’s 
point of view, was Mystic’s chief fault, 
though we know more of the reasons 
for it than Ned did. 

“Yes,” said his father. “And you 
see what trouble he makes us all for 
not remembering and not doing what 
he is told ? ” 

“ Yes, father,” said Ned. 

[ 85 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ Now tell me this,” said Mr. Phelps. 
“ Is there not a boy in this town whose 
father has told him all the rules in Long 
Division, and yet who continually for- 
gets them ? ” 

Ned hung his head. “ Yes,” he said. 

“ Why is it ? ” asked his father. 

“ Perhaps because he does n’t think,” 
said Ned. 

“ Perhaps,” said his father, “ and per- 
haps that is why Mystic gives so much 
trouble. Now tell me this also. Is 
there not a boy in this house who 
sometimes forgets the rule that when 
the street lamps are lighted he is to 
come home ? ” 

“ Yes,” said Ned, deeply ashamed. 

“ So little boys are like dogs, are n’t 
they ? ” asked Mr. Phelps. “ And we 
can learn things about ourselves by 
watching them, can we not ? ” 

[ 86 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


44 Yes, father,” answered Ned. Then 
he promised that he would do better, 
and went away to bed. Mr. Phelps and 
Mr. Davis began to talk about other 
matters, and Shaun went out into the 
hall and found Mystic, lying asleep in 
his warm corner. Shaun waked him. 

44 To be sleeping,” said Shaun, 44 when 
you should be learning things ! ” 

44 Oh,” answered Mystic, 44 1 can’t be 
learning all the time.” And he yawned 
because he was sleepy, but it seemed 
as if it were the greatest bore to Mystic 
to learn anything. 

44 Do you ever learn ? ” asked Shaun. 
44 Do you ever study anything out ? 
Do you know how much trouble you 
are giving your master ? Have you 
stayed with him on a single walk since 
you came to live with him ? Have n’t 
you — ” 


[ 87 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


44 Shaun ! ” cried Mystic, now wide 
awake. 

4 4 Have n’t you spoiled his walks 
and rides for him?” went on Shaun. 
44 Have n’t you made him go out look- 
ing for you ? Do you remember that 
evening when Mr. Phelps was out with 
a lantern looking for you at ten o’clock ? 
And is any man or boy going to put 
up long with a dog who gives so much 
trouble ? ” 

Shaun asked this with great emphasis, 
and it startled Mystic. An idea came 
to him, an unpleasant idea, a really 
dreadful thought. He could not speak 
at all. Then Shaun asked his last 
question. 

44 Do you know,” he said, 44 that Mr. 
Phelps has given you just a week to 
change your ways ? If you don’t 
change, he will send you away.” 

[ 88 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Then Mystic started to howl, but 
Shaun stopped him ; and he would have 
cried, but Shaun would not allow that. 
44 Not a whimper ! ” Shaun said sternly. 
44 Don’t cry, but think, and listen to 
me.” So Mystic listened. 

44 1 heard all they said about you,” 
said Shaun. 44 They know all the 
things you do, and the reasons why 
you do them, as well as a dog himself. 
You turned back on your track this 
afternoon, do you know that?” 

44 Was that why I lost them ? ” asked 
Mystic. 

44 Yes,” answered Shaun. 44 Never 
turn back on your track unless you 
know why. Remember, a man seldom 
turns back unless he has a reason, and 
that reason you can usually find out by 
watching him. If he goes to a house, 
then perhaps he will go back the way 
[ 89 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


he came. But usually he goes on, and 
returns home by some other way. Y ou 
should have followed the road on. 
They had bicycles, so you could not 
scent them very well. But you lose 
them even when they are out walking, 
it seems. And you are a pointer ! ” 
“Yes, but — ” began Mystic. 

“No buts ! ” cried Shaun. “No ex- 
cuses, understand ! This is serious. 
Do you want to leave your home ? ” 

“ Leave here ? ” asked Mystic. 
“ Why, 1 love my master ! ” 

“ Then you take a poor way of show- 
ing it,” said Shaun. “ Listen ! You are 
not to excuse yourself to yourself, you 
are not to make any mistakes, you are 
to follow his scent — ” 

“ But that is hardest of all,” said 
Mystic. 

“ Of course it ’s confusing on a road,” 
[ 90 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


admitted Shaun. 44 It ’s hard at any 
time. But your whole happiness de- 
pends on it. Now I will tell you more 
things, and if you do not remember 
every one of them, you may be in 
trouble.” 

And then for half an hour the two 
dogs lay down together, side by side, 
and while Shaun talked, Mystic listened. 
Shaun repeated and repeated and re- 
peated. 44 Why,” he said, 44 you should 
have learned all this in the kennel.” 
But he repeated just as if he were 
teaching kindergarten, and Mystic, 
thoroughly scared, tried to learn it 
all. 

44 Come to me,” said Shaun, when his 
master was ready to go, 44 if there ever 
is anything you wish to ask about. Or 
go to Ceesar White. Remember three 
things : study English, follow the scent, 
[ 91 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


and pay attention ! ” And then Shaun 
was called away. 

It was a sad, a very sad, and a very 
scared little pointer who lay awake that 
night more than he slept, in the warm 
corner by the register. Mystic felt all 
alone in the world ; no one could help 
him but himself ; he knew it was time 
he paid attention, he knew it was time 
he studied and thought, and for the 
next three days he was such a different 
dog that his master scarcely knew him. 

“ Why, father,” cried Ned, “ Mystic 
knows enough to bark to be let in ! ” 

“ Just as you,” answered his father, 
with a laugh, 4 4 know enough to come 
in out of the wet. Education does not 
end there, my boy.” 


[ 92 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


III 

I T was well for Mystic, and for Ned 
as well, that the poppy followed 
Shaun’s advice. The young dog 
had before his eyes the unpleasant vision 
of another home, which might not be 
home at all, with unkindness, or at 
least harshness, and with poor food and 
little warmth. So he took pains. He 
studied his English as attentively as 
Ned studied his arithmetic ; he learned 
to know his master’s trail even in the 
village square, where so many people 
passed and crossed, and he did such 
intelligent things that all were aston- 
ished and Mystic became very proud. 
He came in one afternoon with Ned, 
having followed the bicycle all the way 
for four miles, and without Ned’s hav- 
[ 93 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


ing to stop for him twice, or to whistle 
for him more than six times. All this 
Ned told at the supper-table with the 
greatest pride. 

44 Did n’t we do well ? ” he asked. 

44 We ? ” repeated his father. 46 Where 
does your credit come in ? I noticed 
that you were half an hour late in re- 
turning.” Ned hung his head. “Tell 
me,” asked Mr. Phelps, 44 did you come 
straight home as soon as you saw the 
lamps were lit ? ” 

44 No,” murmured Ned. 44 1 stopped 
a little while with Tommy Davis.” 

44 And I saw you,” said his father. 
44 Ned, is your puppy learning to obey 
better than you ? ” 

He did not insist upon an answer, 
but Ned felt very much ashamed ; and 
Mystic, who in those few days had 
learned more English than he had in 
[ 94 ] 


Mystic and His Blaster 


all his life before, understood and felt 
surprised. So little boys sometimes 
forgot, as well as dogs ! It was a new 
thing to Mystic, — a discovery which 
elated him, and which led to most un- 
fortunate results, because he became 
a little proud and a little forgetful, 
and started the next day with the 
wrong feeling, so that he came to 
grief. 

Ned was at school, his father was at 
business, and Mrs. Phelps was occupied 
with the quince preserves ; so Mystic 
gathered a piece of news at the square, 
and went to give it to Shaun, who 
could always be counted on to stay 
near the house at such times as he was 
not needed by his master. Shaun lay 
on the top door-step, and greeted Mys- 
tic very kindly. 

“ I ’m doing very well now,” said 
[ 95 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Mystic, feeling much pleased with him- 
self. 

44 Indeed ? ” asked Shaun, very pleas- 
antly, and yet with such a touch of 
meaning in his tone that Mystic remem- 
bered the proverb, 4 4 Speakers should 
not say good of themselves.” Our 
puppy felt uncomfortable, so he hur- 
ried to tell his piece of news. 

44 Fido Jenkins is missing,” he said. 
He looked for Shaun to be surprised, 
but he was not at all. 

44 As I expected,” he remarked. 

44 You expected it ? ” asked Mystic. 

44 Yes, really I did,” answered Shaun, 
44 and I ’ll tell you why. There were a 
couple of strange men in town a day or 
so ago. They were almost trampish- 
looking, one of them tall and one short, 
Did n’t you see them ? ” 

44 No,” answered Mystic. 

[ 96 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


44 They came down our street just at 
dusk,” said Shaun ; 44 they had passed 
the house an hour before. They tried 
to make me come to them ; one of 
them had a piece of meat. You know 
what that means ? ” he asked, looking 
at Mystic. 

44 No ! ” cried Mystic. 44 What ? ” 

44 They wanted to steal me,” said 
Shaun, simply. 44 They looked at me 
very hard when they passed the house 
earlier, and probably noticed that I am 
of good breed. I ’ve heard my master 
say he has refused one hundred and 
fifty dollars for me.” 

“ Indeed ! ” cried Mystic, and he 
took on a new respect for Shaun. He 
had cost but twenty dollars himself. 

44 1 chased them away,” said Shaun, 
dismissing the subject of his own worth 
as if it had no interest for him. 44 But 
7 [97 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


they were dog-men, I knew. They 
smelt doggy. So I said to myself that 
they would get some foolish little well- 
bred dog out of this town before very 
long. So they’ve got Fido ? Well, 
I ’m sorry. Take warning, Mystic.” 

“ Oh, they ’ll never get me,” asserted 
Mystic. 

“ Never speak to strange men, then,” 
said Shaun. “ That ’s all there is to it 
— Never ! Just remember that.” 

“ Not in any case ? ” asked Mystic. 

“ Why, if you ’re dying, starving, 
you could speak to them, but not in 
any other case. I wonder if Fido will 
get away from them.” 

So they talked about Fido, and the 
time passed pleasantly until it was the 
hour for letting out of school. Then 
Mystic went back home to meet his 
little master, and had a very good time 
[ 98 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


until that afternoon about four o’clock, 
when he went out with Ned for a walk. 

That was a late hour for an October 
walk, and Ned made the walk too long. 
But it was such fun, chestnutting, and 
throwing sticks for Mystic to bring 
(which the puppy had learned to do 
very nicely), that Ned was very much 
surprised when he saw the street lights 
shining in the distant town. He hur- 
ried straight home, never stopping to 
do more than whistle for Mystic, and 
expecting the dog to follow. 

But Mystic was at that moment be- 
yond his ears in a woodchuck hole, 
sniffing most eagerly after the dweller 
in that strange place, and giving muf- 
fled yelps down the winding tunnel, 
inviting the woodchuck out to fight. 
At the bottom of the burrow the furry 
animal listened very contemptuously to 
L. OF C, t 99 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


what he knew were only a puppy’s 
barks, and did not care at all when he 
heard the dog digging. “ He ’ll soon 
tire of that,” he said. 

Mystic did soon tire of that, and 
went to find his master. Ned was not 
to be seen. It took some time to un- 
ravel the mystery of his various tracks 
around the chestnut grove ; the young 
dog became very puzzled after a while, 
and it was a long time before he found 
the freshest track which led out of the 
grove toward home. But the trail 
stopped all at once in the middle of a 
road, it led neither onward nor back, 
and Mystic did not understand what 
would have been plain at once to any 
older dog, that Ned had hailed a pass- 
ing wagon and had been whisked home 
very quickly, still whistling for Mystic 
to follow. 


[ 100 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


So there was Mystic in the middle 
of the road ; and he did not know any 
more than to run back to the grove 
and to sniff around for nearly half an 
hour, trying in vain to find some other 
way which Ned could have taken. At 
last he gave it up, and started for home 
by himself ; but he was somewhat con- 
fused by this time, not knowing, even 
though the moonlight was growing 
strong, in just which direction to go. 
And of course he chose the wrong way, 
for moonlight is a very perplexing 
thing. 

After half an hour’s wandering he was 
completely lost, being on the far side 
of the river, down by the last slope of 
Punkatasset Hill ; and he wandered 
along the stream, going at last in the 
right direction, but not knowing it. If 
he had gone on far enough he would 
[ 101 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


have come to Flint’s Bridge near the 
Minute Man, and from there could 
have made his way home, after a long, 
round-about journey. But as he fol- 
lowed the cart-track by the river’s edge, 
he saw figures coming. 

“ There are men,” he said ; and he 
was much pleased, having seen no one 
for half an hour. He crouched nearer 
the ground, wagging his tail humbly, 
and went toward the men gladly with 
a dog’s “ How do you do ? ” He did 
not notice that they were rough-looking 
men, nor that one was tall and one was 
short, nor did he remember his talk 
with Shaun. He thought that he 
would greet them and follow them a 
little way, and then if they did not 
bring him nearer home he would 
start out again for himself. Compan- 
ionship is a very pleasant thing, but 
[ 102 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


it sometimes betrays a dog — or a 
boy. 

He went nearer the men, who 
stopped to look at him. One of them 
said : “ Why, there ’s that pointer 

pup ! ” 

“ They know me,” thought Mystic 
with great pleasure, and went to them 
very confidently, especially when one 
of them stooped down and said : 
“ Come here, good dog.” He felt the 
man’s hand on his head, and he thought 
how nice it was to be patted after his 
lonely walk. Then the man’s hand 
slipped down Mystic’s head to his collar, 
and took hold of that. The man said 
in a very businesslike way : “ The 
chain.” There was a clink as the 
other man drew a chain from his pocket. 
A snap of the catch, and Mystic was 
a prisoner I 


[ 103 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


What a sinking of the heart he had, 
as he remembered ! What fright he 
felt, as he tried to get away ! He 
tugged, he jumped, he twisted, but all 
in vain. The chain and collar both were 
strong, the man struck him angrily with 
his hand, and then the two went on, 
taking Mystic with them. There was 
nothing that he could do : he lay down 
on the ground, and they dragged him, 
and it hurt ; he pulled back, and they 
jerked him, and that hurt ; he barked, 
and they kicked him, and that hurt 
most of all. At last he was both 
bruised and breathless, and had strength 
only to follow on quietly wherever 
they led. They came finally to a 
shanty in a hollow near some woods, 
and the men opened the door of the 
dark dwelling. 

They heard a scuffling inside, and a 
[ 104 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


strange husky bark, and something 
wheezing and pattering came toward 
them. One of the men said : “ Hello, 
old girl,” and he struck a light. 

There was a broad squat bulldog right 
before them, and while the men dragged 
Mystic into the shanty and shut the 
door, she looked him all over. “ Oh, 
you little fool ! ” she said, over and over ; 
but it was so true, and Mystic was so 
tired and frightened, that he could not 
be angry, but stared with great alarm 
about this place, which was dirty and 
small, with neither bed nor chair, but 
with a few heaps of bedding on the 
earth floor, and an old mattress, and a 
broken down cook-stove. The men 
lighted a lantern, and Mystic saw that 
they were as dirty and rough as their 
house, and that the bulldog was scarred 
from many fights. It was a strange 
[ 105 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


place with horrid companions. He saw 
no hope nor consolation in it at all un- 
til the tall man said : “ Come out here, 
pup,” and stooping, drew out from a 
heap of potato sacks a little white 
shivering dog, whom Mystic recognized 
as Fido Jenkins. 

And if we could have looked in on 
them half an hour later, we should have 
seen the two men eating food, with the 
bulldog getting her share of it, but with 
Mystic and Fido, side by side, in the 
farthest corner of the shanty, too 
frightened to eat or to move. And 
when the other three were asleep and 
the shanty was in darkness, there the 
two unhappy dogs sat, all the night 
through. 


[ 106 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


IV 

T HERE is very little consolation 
in leaning up against another 
dog if he is weaker-minded 
than yourself (and Fido was a very 
weak-minded little dog indeed). Also, 
there is not much use in a companion 
whom you must help. These two things 
Mystic found out before morning, as he 
talked with Fido very quietly in the 
darkness of the shanty, where the moon 
made very little light. The two men 
and the bulldog snored very loud, and 
the place was damp and cold, and Fido 
had so few ideas in his head that he was 
irritating. Although he had been there 
twenty-four hours, he did not know the 
bulldog’s name, nor anything about the 
men, nor had he any ideas at all, except 
[ 107 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


that the end of all his happiness had 
come. For Fido belonged to a sweet 
little girl, who bathed him twice a week, 
and fed him daintily, and put him to 
sleep in a little basket with an arched 
top which held a fur rug for him to lie 
on. But Fido had made up his little 
mind that he should never see his mis- 
tress again, and he was mourning her 
very sincerely and sadly, but in quite a 
cowardly fashion, as Mystic felt. And 
perhaps Fido’s presence at the shanty 
did, after all, do Mystic some good ; 
for out of very exasperation at his 
companion’s weakness, he resolved 
that he should see his little master 
again, or at least not lose him without 
a struggle. 

And then and there Mystic’s puppy- 
hood began to fall away from him, as he 
realized the seriousness of his situation. 

[ 108 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Something must be done very soon. 
For the world was large, as he had many 
times heard ; and if the men should go 
away from Concord, and should carry 
him only a few hours in the steam-cars, 
as was quite possible, how could he ever 
find his way back again ? None of the 
maxims he had ever heard could tell him 
that ; not even Shaun, though he had 
run twenty miles in a night to find his 
home, would know what to do in such a 
case. Therefore he must get away from 
these men before they went away from 
Concord, for — oh, then he remembered 
it with the greatest pang — he was on 
trial at his own home. And Ned had 
probably sat up late for him, and perhaps 
Mr. Phelps had been out again looking 
for him, and there were only three days 
left of his week. How dreadful was it 
to think that even if he got back home 
[ 109 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Mr. Phelps might decide not to keep 
him ! 

At this idea of the result of his folly, 
he could not help weeping, and a big 
tear rolled down his nose and dropped 
on Fido’s head. 

44 Are you crying ? ” asked Fido. 

44 Yes,” admitted Mystic. 

44 Oh, don’t cry,” said Fido, in his 
weak little voice. 

Then Mystic almost laughed, as much 
from nervousness as from amusement, 
at the idea that Fido should have any 
bravery in the whole of his little body. 
And out of sheer pity for the fox- 
terrier, who trembled the night through, 
Mystic resolved to help him and to get 
him away safely, if he could. 

In the morning, and quite early too, 
the men were awake and stirring to 
make their breakfast. By daylight 
[no] 


Mystic and His Master 


they looked more unattractive than the 
night before. Mystic would not taste 
their food. 44 Why do you ? ” he asked 
of Fido. 

44 A dog must eat,” answered Fido. 

44 Oh, you ’ll come to it,” wheezed the 
bulldog. 44 They all do.” 

And yet the bulldog cocked her head 
at Mystic, and wondered if her word 
would come true. For Mystic sat up- 
right, and looked so firm and haughty 
that the bulldog knew he would try to 
escape. Fido, too, saw something new 
and strange in Mystic’s appearance, al- 
though he did not understand it. 

44 Mystic,” he said, 44 you look differ- 
ent from yourself.” 

44 1 am different from myself,” an- 
swered Mystic, only half knowing how 
much his own words meant. But 
something inside of him had changed, 

[in] 


Mystic and His Master 


and he knew that he would never be 
the same careless puppy again. Even 
the men noticed it. 

“ I did n’t know he was such a hand- 
some dog,” said the taller. “ Let ’s get 
him out into the light and take a good 
look at him.” 

He snapped the chain on Mystic’s 
collar again, opened the door, and led 
him outside. A mist lay in the hollow ; 
the sun had not yet pierced through it, 
and yet the air was very welcome to 
Mystic. He felt the desire for freedom, 
he saw what he could do, and as the 
man paused to look about him, the dog 
gave a sudden jump and twitch, and 
jerked the chain out of the man’s hands. 
Mystic was free ! 

Mystic was free — but, poor Mystic ! 
The door of the shanty was open, Fido 
was untied within, and even stood peer- 
[ 112 ] 
















































Mystic and His Master 


in g out. Mystic remembered his re- 
solve and waited to help Fido away. 
44 Come ! ” he barked. 44 Fido, come at 
once ! ” He stayed too near the man 
in his anxiety to help his friend, and the 
man was too quick. 

44 Shut the door ! ” he cried to the 
other man. Then, as Fido hesitated, 
the other man shut the door ; and the 
man outside, throwing himself right 
down on the ground, missed Mystic, 
but caught and held the chain. Our 
poor puppy was led inside again, and 
fastened in the corner. 

44 Oh, Fido, why were n’t you 
quicker ? ” he moaned, much disap- 
pointed. Fido had no excuse to make, 
except that he did n’t think ; which is 
a favorite excuse with both boys and 
dogs, but which really is no excuse at 
all. Those who don’t think and those 
8 [ 113 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


who think too much make most of the 
trouble in the world — but this was no 
help to poor Mystic. The men went 
away, leaving him chained there in the 
corner, and he, with Fido and the old 
bulldog, were shut up together for the 
whole day. 

44 Take care of them, Juno,” said the 
men to their dog when they left the 
shanty. 

Strange to say, though she watched 
them carefully, the bulldog became 
friendly. 44 I like you better for that,” 
she said to Mystic ; 44 I do, indeed. 
And you, you little idiot,” she asked of 
Fido, 46 why did n’t you scoot ? You ’ve 
lost your last chance to get home.” 

“ What will they do with us ? ” asked 
Fido. 

44 They will take you away, and soon, 
too,” answered the bulldog. 44 1 ’ve lived 

[ 114 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


with them years now, and they always 
do the same thing. When they are out 
dog-catching they never stay more than 
a week in the same place. Then they 
will take you to the city and sell you. 
They won’t stay here more than another 
day.” 

That time seemed short to Mystic, 
very short indeed, and poor Fido began 
to weep. “ Fido,” said Mystic, “ you 
would do better if you dug your way 
out of this shanty.” 

“ And leave you ? ” asked Fido. 

“ Never mind me,” answered Mystic. 

And Fido might have been small- 
minded enough to follow that advice, 
but Juno spoke up. “ He shall not 
dig his way out,” she said. “ I am big 
enough to prevent that.” 

“ If we were outside and could run 
free,” answered Mystic, “you should 
[H5] 


Mystic and His Master 


never prevent us from going where we 
wished.” 

“ V ery true,” answered the bulldog, 
without anger, “ for my legs are too 
short for running, I can only waddle.” 
And she laughed good-naturedly. “ But 
come, cheer up, and let ’s be as sociable 
as ever we can under the circum- 
stances.” 

She told them a good deal about her 
life, that morning. She had had a good 
home once, she said ; these men had 
stolen her. But that was years ago. 

“ I might have been a well-behaved 
dog myself,” she said. “ But I was 
only a pup, as you are. You soon get 
used to any kind of life.” 

It was dreadful to Mystic to hear 
her say it. Get used to this life ? 
Never ! “ They are kind to you ? ” he 

asked. 

[116] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ I don’t suppose that you would call 
it kind,” answered Juno. “They are 
pretty rough sometimes, when they 
haven’t had a good day. And they 
used to make me fight for money — 
see my scars. But that was years ago, 
and the police have stopped that now.” 

“ I should think the police would 
stop their stealing dogs,” said Mystic, 
with strong indignation. 

“Ah!” answered Juno, and Mystic 
never forgot her expression of pride in 
her masters. “ They are too clever to 
be caught. That is why they never 
stay long in one place.” 

“If I had my way they would stay 
long in one place,” retorted Mystic, 
“and that place is prison.” 

“You are very bold,” said Juno, “to 
say that to me. But you have reason 
to be angry, so I will not bite you.” 

[ 117 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ Bite me ! ” cried Mystic. “ Kill me ! 
It would be better than to be taken 
away.” 

And our poor puppy almost broke 
down, despairing of any help. For in 
that out-of-the-way place, chained in 
the shanty, how should he ever get 
back to his master again ? Fido and 
even Juno tried to comfort him. It 
was all very well for Fido, who had 
given up the struggle already, and it 
was natural to Juno, who had forgotten 
all about a gentler life ; but Mystic re- 
membered very keenly his home and 
his master, and all that Shaun had said 
to him, and as he thought he saw all 
that was best slipping away from him, 
he was even ready to give up hope. 


[ 118 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


V 

N OW let us turn to Ned, who 
lost much sleep on that night 
when Mystic did not come 
home, and blamed himself a good deal 
for what had happened. 

“ Had I only waited at the chestnut 
grove,” he said very frankly to his 
father, “and seen that Mystic heard 
me and was coming after me, he would 
not have been lost. He could not 
have been very far away when I started 
for home.” 

“Forgetfulness is costly; disobedi- 
ence brings trouble both to boys and 
dogs,” thought Mr. Phelps. He did 
not say it; he saw that Ned felt very 
badly, and was learning the lesson in 
his own way. And he too felt troubled 
[H9] 


Mystic and His Master 


about the dog ; he was fond of the 
playful little puppy, and it was with a 
sad heart that he tacked up in the Post 
Office, on the next day, a notice offer- 
ing a reward for the return of Mystic. 
The two ragged men read the notice 
that morning, going boldly into the 
town and walking about the streets. 
The reward was a good one, but they 
thought that perhaps they could sell 
Mystic for more money still ; and be- 
sides, there was Fido to be disposed of, 
and they did not care to attract atten- 
tion to themselves by returning any 
dogs. If no notice was taken of them, 
perhaps they could return to the town 
in a year or so, and steal again. 
Finally, they meant to get another 
puppy on this last day, as well as 
Shaun, of whom they still had hopes. 
When they went near Shaun’s house, 
[ 120 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


however, the Irish terrier, though he 
did not as yet know of Mystics disap- 
pearance, made it very unpleasant for 
them, so that the tall man left the 
street with one more tatter to his 
clothes. And the puppy which they 
had hoped to get was in the house all 
that day, so that he was not to be had. 

Ned, however, knew nothing of this, 
and when he passed the two men in the 
street did not look at them closely 
enough to remember their faces. He 
did not look at many strangers that day, 
in fact, for all his spare time he spent 
looking for a brown and white pointer 
pup, who was not to be found, and had 
not been seen all that day, anywhere in 
the town. In the afternoon Ned went 
out done to the chestnut grove, in the 
he >e of finding Mystic there, but he 
was nowhere. And right by the wood- 
[ 121 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


chuck hole which had delayed Mystic 
on the evening before, Ned sat down, 
knowing that no one could see him, and 
wept a few quiet tears for the dear dog 
whom he began to fear he should never 
see again. He delayed there so long 
that a second time, before he rose, the 
street lights were twinkling in the 
town, and the moon was growing 
bright. 

And yet Ned did not notice the lights 
at all, so full was his mind of his dog. 
If Mystic were perhaps somewhere 
there in the woods, if maybe he had 
fallen into a hole and could not get out, 
he would need his master. And so Ned 
turned away from the town, for the 
moon was strong and the west was still 
bright, and said to himself that he would 
go “ a little way ” toward the river, and 
then he would return. He crossed two 
[ 122 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


slopes of the hill in the short dry grass ; 
then he followed for a while along a 
cart-track, and then he saw the river, 
and went for a short distance beside it. 
And next he saw, moving along the top 
of a gentle slope, something which in 
the moonlight looked like a dog. He 
went toward it, wondering if it were 
Mystic at last. 

It was not a dog, but a fox, going 
out at that time to see if all of the 
nearest flock of hens were safely in their 
yard. He was, however, a very large 
fox, and in the moonlight the mistake 
was easily made. Now a fox is a very 
cool animal, and though he saw Ned 
about the time that Ned saw him, he 
did not run, but moved slowly away as 
the boy came toward him, knowing that 
at any instant he could disappear in 
the shadows. He led Ned quite a long 
[ 123 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


walk, now out of sight for a while and 
then in plain view, and Ned followed 
eagerly after him, although in such 
doubt that he did not whistle. It 
would not have been like Mystic to 
keep so carefully out of the way. But 
when at last Ned did whistle, the animal 
melted away into the distance, and Ned 
never saw him again, although more than 
once, in the next half-hour, he heard the 
fox’s short peculiar bark. When Ned 
stood still, after a last attempt to fol- 
low, and began to look about him, he 
realized that he did not know where 
he was. 

That is a confusing tangle of woods 
and thickets where Ned now found him- 
self wandering. There are many pas- 
ture spaces and many clumps of trees 
and shrubs, while everywhere cart-tracks 
lead in all directions. Ned followed 
[ 124 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


these for a time, but when he came to 
a cross-road where three met, and saw 
that none of them was used very often, 
he began to think that they would be 
of no use to him. He looked off to 
where he supposed the river to be, but 
both he and the moon were to the west 
of it, and he caught no glimmer of 
water to guide him. He began to be 
alarmed, until at last he found a track 
larger than the others, and resolved to 
follow it to its end. Had he gone in 
one direction, he would have come to 
the main road, but instead he turned the 
other way. He followed it for nearly 
half a mile, until at the end it led him 
to a little hollow, in the middle of which 
stood a shanty from whose windows 
light was shining. “ So now,” thought 
Ned, “ I can ask my way home.” He 
went and knocked at the door. 

[ 125 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


There was a quick hoarse bark and a 
scramble inside, and men leaped to 
their feet. Some thing, some dog, 
came and panted just inside the door, 
and Ned began to feel nervous ; the 
panting was wheezy and eager. The 
men moved about quickly inside, but 
they did not come to the door, and at 
last he knocked again. Then the door 
was opened. 

A great bulldog came sidling out 
with astonishing quickness and began 
to sniff at his legs. A bulldog looks 
so threatening that it is no wonder 
Ned felt uneasy. Two men, too, stood 
and stared at him, and were by no means 
pleasant-looking, so rough were they. 
They seemed yery stern at first until 
they saw clearly who was there. Then 
they laughed shortly and seemed re- 
lieved. “ It s only a boy,” said one. 

[ 126 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Ned saw nothing else in the shanty 
until he spoke. 

“ Can you tell me the way to Con- 
cord ? ” he asked. 

Then all of a sudden there was a 
movement in a heap of bedding, and 
a dog came leaping out from it and 
would have run to N ed but that a chain 
held him back. It was Mystic, and he 
tugged at the chain and cried out to his 
master. 

“You Ve got my dog ! ” cried Ned. 

“So he ’s yours, is he ? ” asked the 
tall man. But he was not pleased, and 
the two men looked at each other and 
scowled. 

“ Where did you get him ? ” de- 
manded Ned. 

“We found him,” answered the short 
man. 

Then, at the sound of the voices, Ned 
[ 127 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


saw a little white head come out of 
another heap of bedding, and he rec- 
ognized Fido Jenkins. 

“Perhaps you found that dog too,” 
he said. 

“We did,” answered the short man. 

There was something in his voice 
which was very unpleasant, so that Ned 
looked at him startled. The man was 
scowling at him, but he spoke again 
quietly. 

“ Come in,” he said, “ and we ’ll tell 
you about it.” 

Ned drew away. “No,” he replied, 
“ But give me my dog.” 

“We deserve something for keeping 
him,” suggested the man. 

“ Come to my father’s house in the 
morning,” answered Ned, “and he will 
pay you ten dollars.” 

“ All right,” returned the man. 

[ 128 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ We’ll bring the dog in the morn- 
ing.” 

But all this time Mystic was tugging 
at his chain, whining and crying. Ned 
could not leave him, and besides, he 
distrusted the men. 

“ No,” he said again. “ But give the 
dog to me.” 

The tall man looked at the other, 
then he turned away and went to the 
table, where he sat down. “ All right,” 
he said. “ Come in and get your dog. 
Come here, Juno ; let the young gentle- 
man alone.” 

The bulldog left Ned, and went to 
her master ; and the short man drew 
away from the door, to leave room for 
Ned to enter. Ned hesitated, but Mys- 
tic whined so piteously, and Ned felt 
so relieved that the bulldog had left 
him, that he took a step inside the 
9 [ 129 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


shanty. Then he looked at the men. 
The short man was taking out his pipe 
as if to fill it, and the tall one was 
pulling the bulldog’s ears and paid 
no attention to Ned. The boy felt 
safe, and went right up to Mystic, 
who cried for joy to feel his master’s 
hand. 

But the chain was not merely 
snapped on Mystic’s collar ; the men 
had locked it. Ned turned to them. 

“ Unlock this, please,” he said. 

44 I think not,” said the big man. 

Then, as he spoke, the short man shut 
the door and turned the key in the lock, 
and there was Ned, shut up in that 
place with those men, who began to 
smile at him. 

44 W ell, sonny ? ” said the tall one. 

44 Let me out 1 ” cried Ned. 44 Un- 
lock this dog and let us both go ! ” 

[ 130 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“Not at all,” said the smaller. 
“Now don’t get excited, my boy. 
There’s no good in that. Sit right 
down and make yourself at home.” 

“What are you going to do with 
me ? ” asked Ned, trembling. 

“ I don’t know,” was the answer. 
“ You see, we can’t let you go, because 
you ’d make trouble for us. And we 
won’t give up the dogs.” 

“ Small boys are of use,” said the tall 
man. “ I know a man who will give 
fifty dollars for a boy like you to do 
the work about his place.” 

“ You would n’t dare take me away,” 
cried Ned. 

But he clung to Mystic as he said it, 
and tears started to his eyes. Boys 
had been taken away from their par- 
ents, he knew. How dreadful it would 
be ! He did not feel Mystic licking 

[ 131 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


his hands, so frightened was he at the 
threat. 

“ Would n’t dare ? ” asked the small 
man. ‘‘Well, we shall see.” 

Then Ned choked down his tears: 
these men should not see him crying. 
And he, too, in that unpleasant shanty 
grew older from his trial, as had 
Mystic. 

“ You won’t let me go ? ” he asked. 

“ No,” was the answer. 

Then Ned thought of a trick. “ I ’ll 
go without the dog,” he said. 

But the men saw through it. “You 
would have the police here before 
morning,” they answered. “You’ll 
stay here, sonny, for this night at least. 
To-morrow — we ’ll see.” 

Then the little man approached him. 
“You’ve got a watch?” he asked. 
“ Let me see it.” 

[ 132 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ You shall not have it,” cried Ned, 
clasping his hands over his pocket. 

The man took hold of his wrists. 
Ned never forgot that clutch. Great, 
rough grimy hands they were, too 
strong for him to resist. They 
drew his hands away from the 
pocket, and then one hand held both 
of his while the other took out the 
watch. 

“ It ’s my own,” cried Ned. “ Father 
gave it to me last Christmas.” 

4 4 And much obliged we are to your 
father,” laughed the man. “ My own 
does n’t go very well, so I ’m having it 
mended just now.” He laughed again, 
and Ned knew that he had no watch 
at all. “ Until mine comes back, I ’ll 
keep this.” 

“ See if he ’s got any money,” said 
the other man. 

[ 133 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ Where ’s your purse ? ” asked the 
short man. “ Shall I take it out ? ” 

But Ned never wanted to feel again 
the touch of those hands. There was 
no good in resisting, so he took out his 
purse and gave it to the man, who 
poured its contents out into his great 
palm. 

“ Only forty cents,” he grumbled, 
“ and a little key. Here, you ’re wel- 
come to the key.” 

Ned took it and put it in his pocket, 
but suddenly he was pleased. That 
key — it was the key to the padlock on 
Mystic’s collar ! Perhaps he could get 
the dog away. He sat down beside 
Mystic, and drew the dog into his lap, 
where the poor puppy lay trembling. 
Mystic knew what was wrong ; he be- 
lieved that his master could not help 
him, but forgetting himself he tried to 
[ l34> ] 


Mystic and His Master 


comfort Ned. And Fido, too, crawled 
to the boy and snuggled by his side. 

The men paid little more attention 
to Ned, but played cards for a time, 
after they found he would not take 
their food nor sit at their table. It was 
hard and lonely for Ned there, as he 
thought of his home. Supper time 
passed, evening drew into night ; what 
were his father and mother thinking? 
Finally the short man looked at Ned’s 
watch. 

“ Half-past eight,” he said. “ Well, 
we must be moving early in the morn- 
ing. It ’s time for bed now.” 

And in a little while the light was out 
and the men were sleeping, while their 
bulldog lay at the threshold. Ned still 
sat by the wall, with the two dogs. 
Fido had curled up to sleep, but Mystic 
still from time to time pressed closer to 
[ 135 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Ned and showed that he was awake. It 
grew tiresome, very tiresome there. Ned 
at last became sleepy himself. But Mys- 
tic had never been so wide awake. 

Mystic had been thinking and wait- 
ing. He was waiting for Juno to go to 
sleep, and he was thinking that then he 
could do something. Juno was at last 
asleep, snoring loud ; and then Mystic 
very silently slipped from Ned’s lap. 

Ned heard him doing something — 
what was it? Mystic was digging by 
the wall of the shanty. The floor was 
of dirt, there was no stonework to keep 
a dog from digging out, and Mystic, 
while the light lasted, had picked out 
the best place to dig. It was astonish- 
ing how soon he had made a little hole. 
Ned felt, and patted Mystic. “ Good 
dog ! ” he whispered, and tried to help 
with his hands. 


[ 136 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


But they had to be quiet — oh, so 
quiet ! Both understood that they 
must not wake foolish little Fido, who 
in his excitement might betray them. 
They dared not work as hard as they 
wished, nor throw the dirt inward as 
fast as they were able, for fear that the 
noise would wake Juno. But Ned put 
his whole arm through the hole at last, 
and felt the night air. Then the hole 
grew larger still, and Mystic was very 
proud of their progress, when all of a 
sudden he felt Ned draw him away from 
the work, upon his lap. Then Ned, by 
patting Mystic’s head, made him under- 
stand that he was to keep quiet, and 
presently the dog felt his master work- 
ing at his collar. It was difficult in the 
dark, but Ned found the padlock, and 
put the key in, and took off the collar. 
Mystic felt a delightful freedom when, 
[ 137 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


with the heavy chain, it slipped from his 
neck. Then Ned gently put him at the 
work again. 

They dug all the harder now, especially 
since Mystic was hoping for too much. 
He believed that he could dig a hole 
large enough for his master to squeeze 
through. Ned was wiser. He thought 
that if Mystic could get out and could 
find his way home — What was 
that ? 

Mystic had thrown some of the dirt 
too far backward, in his eagerness. 
Some of it struck Juno, some of it fell 
on one of the men. Juno’s snoring 
ceased, and they heard her start up. 
The man awoke as well. 

“ What was that ? ” he asked. 

Ned seized Mystic and began to push 
him through the hole. “ Go ! ” he whis- 
pered, “ Go ! ” The man sat up. 

[ 138 ] 


Mystic and His Master 

“ Dirt on me ? ” he cried. He struck 
a match. 

Mystic wriggled and squeezed ; Ned 
pushed him. The man, as he stood up, 
saw the dog’s hind legs working as hard 
as they could ; the very tail seemed to 
be pushing. 

44 Juno !” cried the man. 

And Juno sprang for Mystic. But 
Ned — and it took great courage to try 
to stop the dog — threw himself in the 
way and caught at Juno’s collar. He 
held her back just a second, just a 
single instant. But in that instant 
Mystic slipped through. 

44 Go home, Mystic!” called Ned, 
loudly. 

Juno would have turned on Ned, 
but the man stopped her. He caught up 
the collar and chain, and looked at them ; 
the other man rose and looked at them 
[ 139 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


also. Then they looked at Ned. He 
showed them the key. 

“I am much obliged for giving it 
back,” he said. 

He thought they would strike him, 
they were so angry ; indeed, the tall man 
started to do so, but the other stopped 
him. 

44 No use,” said the short man. — 44 You 
think you’re very clever,” he said to 
Ned. 44 But you don’t get away from 
us, anyway.” 

Then Ned, still sitting there by the 
wall, did a very bold thing. He picked 
up little Fido bodily and shoved him 
through the hole. 

44 All right,” he said. 

The tall man struck him, this time, 
and Ned fell sideways. It hurt, it hurt 
terribly ; he felt the blood on his fore- 
head, and then he almost fainted. But 
[ 140 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


he did not care ; lie had saved the two 
dogs. Even if the men took him away 
with them in the morning, the dogs 
would get home. He lay quiet, and 
gradually began to understand what the 
men were saying. 

“ Go at once, and take the boy with 
us,” the shorter was urging. “ Suppose 
the dog brings men on us here ? ” 

“ He would n’t be so clever ; he ’s 
only a pup,” objected the other man. 

But they were very undecided what 
to do, and discussed the matter for a 
long while. 


Mystic and His Master 


VI 

M YSTIC stood outside the 
shanty, and trembled as he 
heard what was going on 
within. He did not run when Ned 
told him to ; instead, after a moment he 
was about to enter again, to stand by 
his master, when just then Ned shoved 
Fido through. Poor little Fido shivered 
and whimpered in the night air ; he did 
not seem to realize how much Ned had 
done for him. 

“ It ’s very cold, is n’t it ? ” he asked. 
But when Mystic saw Fido come 
through, he understood Ned’s purpose. 
The dogs were to go home — and get 
help ! He could do it, or at least he 
must do it. But he had been lost when 
the men found him, and they had led 
[ 142 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


him to the shanty at a time when he 
was too exhausted to take note of where 
he was going. How should he find his 
way back ? 

“ There ’s a frost, 1 do believe,” 
whined Fido. 

There was a frost, and the grass was 
white with it as Mystic remembered 
how he could find his way home. His 
own track was a day old ; he could not 
follow it. But Ned had come scarcely 
three hours ago, and his trail could be 
traced. Mystic went to the door of the 
shanty, and started back along the way 
Ned had come. It led along the road, 
and Mystic ran as fast as he dared, for 
he must not miss it. 

“ Wait, Mystic ! ” fretted Fido, hurry- 
ing along behind. 

Wait! Mystic wished he might go 
faster. But the frost troubled him very 
[ 143 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


much, and the cold scent was hard to fol- 
low. Again and again he had to walk ; 
once he was obliged to go back and trace 
the way carefully before it became clear 
again. This delay was so great that he 
did not dare risk it again, and so had to 
go very slowly. He was impatient, and 
had to control himself ; he was eager 
to dash forward, straight to the town, 
and instead he had to walk almost all 
the time. And all the while behind 
him trotted Fido, saying : “ Mystic, do 
you know where you are going ? ” or, 
“ Mystic, can you find your way 
home ? ” 

But Fido began to complain seriously 
when Mystic left the cart-tracks and 
began to wander about over the fields, 
following Ned’s trail in all its windings. 
“ Why, you ’ve got no plan at all,” Fido 
whimpered. “ You go every which 
[ 144 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


way. Don’t you think that if we 
started off together and went straight, 
we should find something ? ” 

But though Mystic made Fido no 
answer, being fully occupied in follow- 
ing the faint scent, he knew he was 
taking the only means to bring him 
surely home. They might try to find 
the town, and really find it ; on the 
other hand they might get hopelessly 
lost. And how much that would mean 
to Ned ! No, Mystic would do only 
this one thing ; it was slow, but sure. 

His resolution and his devotion 
showed very clearly as he worked, in 
and out, up slopes and down hillsides, 
among thickets and again in open fields. 
They crossed the fox’s track, and Mystic 
snarled at it, but would not stop. Fido 
was enough to make any dog angry, 
but Mystic paid him no attention, and 
10 [ 145 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


the little terrier had enough sense to 
follow the pointer — or perhaps he was 
afraid to go away by himself. At 
any rate, Fido was still with Mystic 
when he reached the chestnut grove 
and passed through it to a playground 
which was known, even in the dark, to 
every dog in town. 

“ Here we are at last ! ” cried Fido, in 
delight. “ How slow you ’ve been ! 
Come on now. We can go straight.” 

They rushed on together, directly for 
the town. It seemed near ; there were 
the lights, although it was nearly mid- 
night. 

“ Hurrah ! ” barked Fido, but Mystic 
was silent. His night’s work was far 
from done. Suddenly he stopped. 

“ What are you waiting for ? ” cried 
Fido. 

“ Mr. Phelps has been here,” answered 
[ 146 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


Mystic, sniffing at the ground. “He 
has passed by recently, within half an 
hour. The scent is fresh.” 

“ What of it ? ” demanded Fido. 
“ Come on home.” 

“ He is looking for Ned,” answered 
Mystic. “ I must find him.” And to 
Fido’s disgust Mystic began again to 
trot along slowly, his nose to the 
ground. 

“You don’t mean to say,” Fido de- 
manded, “ that you ’re not going home ? 
I am, at any rate.” 

“ Go home, then,” answered Mystic. 
“ But I must find Mr. Phelps.” 

And then — can you believe it ? — 
Fido went home. He ran to his own 
house and cried outside the door, and 
his dear little mistress let him in, and 
Fido was so delighted that he forgot all 
about Mystic still in the fields and the 
[ 147 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


boy friend who had helped them both. 
Other dogs reminded him many times 
of that ; they called him a 44 deserter,” 
and he was never very popular in Con- 
cord afterwards. But Mystic w r ent on 
alone until he found Mr. Phelps. 

Parties were out searching in all 
directions for Ned. Mr. Phelps, half 
distracted, was leading one, and after 
four hours they had found no trace of 
the missing boy. But when they heard 
a bark of delight and Mystic came 
bounding among them, they had a 
glimmer of hope. They knew him by 
the light of their lanterns. 

46 It ’s Mystic ! ” cried Mr. Phelps, as 
the dog fawned on him. 

44 It ’s all right now, then,” said Mr. 
Davis. 44 He 11 find the boy for us.” 

But Mr. Phelps was so anxious and 
so unhappy that he could not believe it. 

[ 148 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


44 Mystic find anything ? ” he asked. 
44 He is always getting lost himself.” 

44 But see,” said Mr. Davis, “ the dog 
has lost his collar ; he ’s been chained. 
And look ! ” 

For Mystic had already left them 
and had run back on his trail. 44 Come !” 
he seemed to say, as he looked at them 
over his shoulder. 4 4 Come, master ! ” 

And Mr. Phelps almost cried with 
relief ; the tears actually stood in his 
eyes. 44 Lead on, Mystic,” he called to 
the dog. 44 We will follow.” 

Mystic led straight to the chestnut 
grove ; he knew that way without a 
trail. There he seemed at a loss, and 
cast about in circles, so that they 
thought him puzzled. 44 He ’ll never 
do it,” said Mr. Phelps, ready to despair 
again. But Mr. Davis reassured him, 
and then Mystic came upon the trail 
[ 149 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


and began to follow it. The men went 
after. 

He went quicker now ; he was follow- 
ing his own fresh trail and not Ned’s 
cold one. But the men kept up with 
him, for it was still no easy task for him 
in the heavily falling frost. And as he 
led them on, they began to marvel at 
him. In and out he went, now in wide 
circles, now with sudden turns, and 
always they heard the eager snuffing at 
the ground, the steady patter of his feet, 
and the little excited whines as he came 
to some place that he knew. There in 
the night, by lantern light (for the 
moon had set), it was curious to watch 
him working, to see that he knew what 
he was doing, and to realize that he was 
bringing them to the boy. 

66 Wonderful ! ” they whispered among 
themselves. 

[ 150 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


But Mr. Phelps pressed on after 
Mystic, close on his footsteps, and with 
shining eyes. This was the dog he 
had despised, who had no gratitude, 
who must be given away ! How he 
had misjudged the puppy ! His eyes 
were still upon the dog, when those 
behind him murmured together. Mr. 
Phelps looked up. There was a hollow 
below them, and there was the shanty, 
with its windows shining light. Mystic 
stopped and whined once more. They 
understood him as if he had spoken. 

“ Ned is there. I have done my 
part ; now you must do the rest.” 

He did not know what was the dully 
gleaming thing which Mr. Phelps drew 
from his pocket ; he had never seen a 
revolver before. Mr. Davis produced 
one also. The two looked at each 
other with much resolution. 

[ 151 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ If there ’s been any foul play — ” 
muttered one of the men behind. 

The threat was not finished, for Mr. 
Phelps moved forward, and all followed 
him. They went down into the hollow 
silently ; they approached the shanty 
with noiseless steps ; they formed in a 
group close to the door, and Mr. Phelps 
put his ear to it to listen. 

The men inside were still discussing ; 
Ned was still sitting by the wall, the 
blood unwiped from his forehead. The 
longer they delayed, the more hope he 
had, for he believed thoroughly in 
Mystic. But the time was very long. 
He had listened and listened in vain for 
the sound of footsteps outside, and the 
men had at last come to a decision. 

“ Well, then,” said the tall man, 
“let’s go, and at once. We’ll take 
the boy with us.” 

[ 152 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


They rose from the table, and Ned 
could have cried. One more hour of 
delay, and he felt sure of safety ; but 
now — 

The door fell from its hinges with a 
clatter. There were men in the door- 
way ; Ned’s own father stood there, and 
Mystic, his dear Mystic, came darting 
to his side. The two men started back, 
and each put his hand to his pocket ; 
but those two pistols which Mystic did 
not understand had much meaning to 
the dog-stealers, and when they saw 
them pointing they stood quiet. 

“ Quiet your dog,” ordered Mr. 
Phelps, “ unless you want it shot.” 
For Juno was very threatening, not 
knowing what the new-comers meant 
by their sudden entrance. 

The tall man sat down in his chair 
again, and took Juno by the collar. 

[ 153 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ All right, guvnor,” he said ; “ only 
don’t shoot.” 

Then Ned’s father went to him ; and 
some of those who stood there at the 
door wiped their eyes as they saw the 
meeting. 


[ 154 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


VII 

A ND the end of all this ? I 

/A think it can best be told in 
JL JL two conversations which took 
place about a week after Ned was lost. 
The first was between Ned and his 
father and mother. Ned stood at his 
mothers knee one evening, lingering 
after he had said good-night. His 
mother held his hand, thinking how 
precious her boy was to her, and how 
near she had come to losing him. 
Mystic sat close by. 

“ And so the two men are sent to 
prison ? ” asked Ned. 

“ Yes,” said his father; “they were 
sentenced to-day.” 

“What will become of Juno?” 
asked Ned. “ Did Mr. Jones the ex- 
[ 155 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


pressman really mean that he would 
take her ? ” 

44 He has her now,” answered Mr. 
Phelps, 44 and she appears very con- 
tented. I don’t believe she will ever 
see her old masters again.” 

44 Father,” said Ned, slowly, 44 I want 
to say you have been very good to me, 
not to blame me at all for what hap- 
pened — that night.” 

44 I did n’t think I needed to,” was 
the answer. 

44 It was all my fault,” went on Ned, 
speaking with difficulty, for it is hard 
to confess an error. 44 1 should have 
noticed the time. I — I will never do 
such a thing again. I have been at 
home on time since then.” 

44 My good boy ! ” said his mother, 
drawing him down to her and smooth- 
ing his hair. 

[ 156 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


“ And about sending Mystic away — ” 
began Ned, beckoning his dog toward 
him. 

“ Never refer to that again ! ” cried his 
father, in a very threatening voice. He 
caught up Mystic into his own lap. 
“ I ’m ashamed of myself,” said Mr. 
Phelps. Then they all laughed and 
felt better. 

“ I think I ’ve learned a good deal,” 
said Ned. 

“ I ’m sure you have,” replied his 
father. 

And Mystic and Shaun had had 
much the same kind of conversation 
that afternoon. 

“You don’t seem quite so frisky as 
you used,” Shaun had said. 

“ I don’t feel the same,” answered 
Mystic. “ I feel older. It seems 
as if I ’d learned something that 
[ 157 ] 


Mystic and His Master 


night. I hope I’m not so foolish as 
before.” 

“ I know you ’re not,” asserted 
Shaun. 

But as for Ned and Mystic, no 
other master and dog, not even Shaun 
and his master, had such love for each 
other as did those two. 


[ 158 ] 



I 


/ 







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